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I am trying to improve my vocabulary.
I often google the meaning of a word; and in the Google definition of, say, a word x it says:-
y,z.
I google the definition of y, it says in the meaning:- x,z;
and when I look for the meaning of the definition of 'z':- x,y.
What's up with this circulation?
An example in google search:- define perplexed -> baffled -> bewildered, perplexed.
bewildered -> perplexed
I often google the meaning of a word; and in the Google definition of, say, a word x it says:- y,z. I google the definition of y, it says in the meaning:- x,z; and when I look for the meaning of the definition of 'z':- x,y.
This is the test of a good dictionary: a good dictionary will not give “word x is y,z" and "y = x,z”. A good dictionary will explain the word’s origin and use a sentence or more to explain the meaning and then give several examples, with context, to show the word in various uses and meanings. It is impossible to over-emphasise the importance of context in English: the same word in one context may be an insult, and in another the greatest praise.
There are, in fact, very, very few words in English that really have the same meaning in all contexts. The general guidance is “If the word or phrase is different, then the meaning, or at least the nuance, will be different.” For example, the words kingly, regal, and monarchical may all seem to mean “in the manner of a royal ruler”, but, when put in a sentence will create a different image in the mind.
This is one reason why English is so popular – it allows subtlety of meaning and ideas to be expressed more precisely or, when needed, less precisely.
Your example is good.
perplexed -> baffled -> bewildered
If I am perplexed – the image is of my being intelligent and thoughtful, but puzzled and at a loss to see a solution.
If I am baffled – the image is of my having no idea about a solution and am somewhat confused. The word is now a little old-fashioned, and so the nuance is that I am middle-class.
If I am bewildered – the image is of my being so confused by all that is happening that I am not able even to consider a solution.
English is a rich language which has acquired a huge vocabulary over the centuries. According to Oxford Languages, perplex comes from the Latin with the sense of 'tangle', baffle comes from the French with the sense 'deceive', and bewilder originally had the sense of 'go completely astray'. People just started using these words several hundred years ago because they found them useful and expressive.
Every definition must use words that are themselves defined. Because the lexicon is finite, the process ultimately must be circular. (The term "bootstrapping" is sometimes used for this issue.) It is unfortunate that the circularity was so tight in the example that you provided, but you'd have to ask the people who wrote that dictionary why they made it so.
By the way, dictionaries sometimes include definitions that do not consist of synonymous expressions. This often occurs with function words, which frequently lack good synonyms. You can see that, for example, in many of the entries for Merriam-Webster's definition of "for".
Your question is founded on a false premise: "perplexed" and "baffled" have very similar meanings, but they are not identical. The various dictionaries available don't agree perfectly on the differences, but here is a proof of concept from a few different dictionaries; the words don't have identical semantics according to any of the dictionaries.
This dictionary defines "perplexed" as "confused and anxious because you are unable to understand something; showing this", and it defines "baffle" as "to confuse somebody completely; to be too difficult or strange for somebody to understand or explain". Note the anxiety of "perplexed" that is absent in "baffled".
This dictionary defines "perplexed" as "confused, because something is difficult to understand or solve", and it defines "baffle" as "to cause someone to be completely unable to understand or explain something". Note the fact that you must be perplexed by something that is difficult, whereas you can be baffled by something regardless of whether it has some inherent difficulty.
This dictionary defines "perplexed" as "filled with uncertainty: PUZZLED", and it defines "baffled" as "extremely confused or puzzled". I actually disagree with its definition of "perplexed", but assuming for the sake of argument that it is correct, notice that one may be baffled by being merely confused (note the "or" in the definition), whereas one must be puzzled (that is, one must be confused by a problem one is trying to solve) in ordered to be perplexed.
