perplexinglyadv.
/pəˈplɛksɪŋli/, U.S. /pərˈplɛksɪŋli/ In a perplexing manner; confusingly, bewilderingly. (In later use also as a sentence adverb.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > perplexity, bewilderment > act of perplexing > [adverb]
confusively1599
confoundingly1667
perplexingly1795
embarrassingly1817
distractively1834
bewilderingly1838
distractingly1842
confusingly1863
bafflingly1879
mystifyingly1937
1795 J. Payne Epitome Hist. (ed. 2) II. v. 242 So perplexingly various are the proper names for the same thing, which are given by different writers upon the affairs of this country.
1830 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 27 10 The mind or person being called, somewhat perplexingly perhaps, by logicians, the subject.
1897 Naturalist 247 Later they became..more perplexingly numerous still.
1939 H. G. Wells Holy Terror iii. ii. 271 Russia..sprawled perplexingly, with its internecine feuds and recriminations, across this complex of human interpretations.
1979 Nature 9 Aug. 450/3 Perplexingly, the work that led to all three christenings was initiated in one laboratory.
2002 J. Harris & F. Warde French Kitchen 180/1 Le gateau is a generic term for ‘cake’, although perplexingly, le cake refers to a kind of tea bread.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2005; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adv.1795