Lewis & Short

per-plexus, a, um, adj. [plecto], entangled, involved, intricate, confused (not in Cic. or Cæs.).

  1. I. Lit.: figurae, Lucr. 2, 102; cf. id. 2, 459; 463: foramina linguae, id. 4, 621: corpora terraï, id. 5, 452: iter silvae, Verg. A. 9, 391; Plin. 9, 2, 1, § 2: nervi, Vulg. Job, 40, 12.
  2. II. Trop., intricate, involved, confused, perplexed, unintelligible, dark, ambiguous, obscure, inscrutable: sermones, Liv. 40, 5: perplexius carmen, id. 25, 12: perplexum Punico astu responsum, id. 35, 14 fin.
    As subst., intricacy, perplexity: ignorare se dixit, quidnam perplexi sua legatio haberet, id. 34, 57.
    Comp.: ratio perplexior, Plin. 2, 15, 13, § 62.
    Hence, adv.: perplexē, confusedly, perplexedly, obscurely: pergin’, scelesta, mecum perplexe loqui? Ter. Eun. 5, 1, 1: defectionem haud perplexe indicavere, Liv. 6, 13; Curt. 8, 5, 13.
    Comp.: perplexius errare, Prud. adv. Symm. 2, 847: disputans, Amm. 25, 3, 23.
    1. B. Carefully, with minute care: interrogando, Amm. 15, 1, 1.