The sudden drop in the river's water level perplexed the hydrologists, who had no immediate explanation for the phenomenon.
河水水位的突然下降使水文学家们感到困惑，他们对这一现象没有立即的解释。
Which choice best defines “perplex”?
D — Confuse; puzzle; bewilder. “perplex” means confuse; puzzle; bewilder.
Which word means “confuse; puzzle; bewilder”?
B — perplex. “perplex” means confuse; puzzle; bewilder.
perplex — confuse; puzzle; bewilder. In Chinese: 使困惑，使费解.
perplex is pronounced /pərˈpleks/.
The sudden drop in the river's water level perplexed the hydrologists, who had no immediate explanation for the phenomenon. (河水水位的突然下降使水文学家们感到困惑，他们对这一现象没有立即的解释。)
confuse, baffle, bewilder — all close in meaning to perplex (confuse; puzzle; bewilder).
clarify, enlighten — each the opposite of perplex (confuse; puzzle; bewilder).
Yes. perplex is on the SAT Prep Easy list — mid-frequency academic words that do get tested. The Digital SAT does not test vocabulary in isolation; words like this one are tested through Words in Context questions, where you choose the word that completes a passage most logically and precisely.
per- (completely) + plex (entangle) → make complex, confuse