confuse
Americanverb (used with object)
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confuses,
present (3rd person singular)
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confused,
past participle, past
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confusing
present participle
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to perplex or bewilder.
The flood of questions confused me.
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to make unclear or indistinct.
The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.
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to fail to distinguish between; associate by mistake; confound.
to confuse dates;
He always confuses the twins.
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to disconcert or abash.
His candor confused her.
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to combine without order; jumble; disorder.
Try not to confuse the papers on the desk.
- Synonyms:
- disturb, disarrange, disarray
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Archaic. to bring to ruin or naught.
verb
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to bewilder; perplex
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to mix up (things, ideas, etc); jumble
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to make unclear
he confused his talk with irrelevant details
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to fail to recognize the difference between; mistake (one thing) for another
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to disconcert; embarrass
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to cause to become disordered
the enemy ranks were confused by gas
Synonym Usage
Confuse, disconcert, embarrass imply temporary interference with the clear working of one's mind. To confuse is to produce a general bewilderment: to confuse someone by giving complicated directions. To disconcert is to disturb one's mind by irritation, perplexities, etc.: to disconcert someone by asking irrelevant questions. To embarrass is to cause one to be ill at ease or uncomfortable, so that one's usual judgment and presence of mind desert one: to embarrass someone by unexpected rudeness.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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confusabilitynoun
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preconfuseverb (used with object)
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reconfuseverb (used with object)
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confusableadjective
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unconfusableadjective
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confusablyadverb
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unconfusablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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confusesimple
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confusessimple
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have confusedperfect
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has confusedperfect
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am confusingprogressive
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are confusingprogressive
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is confusingprogressive
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have been confusingperfect progressive
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has been confusingperfect progressive
Past
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confusedsimple
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had confusedperfect
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was confusingprogressive
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were confusingprogressive
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had been confusingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of confuse
First recorded in 1300–50; from Old French confus “perplexed,” from Latin confūsus “mixed, poured,” past participle of confundere; see confound
Explanation
If you confuse two things, you are not correctly identifying them. If you confuse heartburn with a heart attack, you might end up at the emergency room instead of in the antacid aisle of the drugstore. To confuse can also mean to bewilder. If you tell a teacher that she's confusing you, you probably mean that she's being more complex than you can handle. A lot of people get confused by the differences among "their," "they're," and "there." To confuse the situation even further, there's "theirs" and "there's."
Vocabulary lists containing confuse
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is using a combination of different flight paths, maneuvers and speeds to try to confuse U.S. defenses, they say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
The unwanted beam copies, called grating lobes, can confuse the sensor and generate false detections.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
The Greeks never tried to confuse the audience in the pursuit of suspense.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Still, Charu Chanana at Saxo Markets warned "investors should be careful not to confuse lower oil prices with the end of the inflation problem".
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Another tactic meant to confuse and intimidate her.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
This creates what is known as the doorway effect, which confuses our brains.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
Though the ring knows when I’ve been walking, it confuses my harried morning routine for housework.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 2026
One of the persistent story lines in the WBC: The Americans should have more fun, which confuses exuberance with passion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
Evercore also asserts the Citrini scenario confuses the individual company implications and the macroeconomic implications of agentic price discovery.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 24, 2026
I was also taught that a “noun” is a word for a person, place, or thing, which confuses a grammatical category with a semantic category.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
"I didn't want to take strong medication which made me feel ill, not in control and often so confused that I felt I'd dementia," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
“I think all of us are very sad over the issue, confused, and all of us feel bamboozled,” Cheng said during a study session this month.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
We are hurt and confused, but we have also tried to respect the boundaries they have established.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
If you’re confused by this premise, you’re not alone.
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2026
Marlie and Rowan ran toward dragging Allun, who was still struggling but starting to look confused instead of angry.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
It may seem confusing that exercise isn’t especially effective for losing weight but can help prevent regain.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
He said it would also help to put an end to "the confusing and unjust postcode lottery caused by different rules in different areas".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Taylor Farms has spent much of the summer at the center of a strange and confusing food-safety story.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
“But you know, I think it’s confusing to voters in some ways.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
This is a strange twist on the complex world of confusing roles and identities that slavery created.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
