confuse
Americanverb (used with object)
-
confuses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
confused,
past participle, past
-
confusing
present participle
-
to perplex or bewilder.
The flood of questions confused me.
-
to make unclear or indistinct.
The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.
-
to fail to distinguish between; associate by mistake; confound.
to confuse dates;
He always confuses the twins.
-
to disconcert or abash.
His candor confused her.
-
to combine without order; jumble; disorder.
Try not to confuse the papers on the desk.
- Synonyms:
- disturb, disarrange, disarray
-
Archaic. to bring to ruin or naught.
verb
-
to bewilder; perplex
-
to mix up (things, ideas, etc); jumble
-
to make unclear
he confused his talk with irrelevant details
-
to fail to recognize the difference between; mistake (one thing) for another
-
to disconcert; embarrass
-
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
-
confusabilitynoun
-
preconfuseverb (used with object)
-
reconfuseverb (used with object)
-
confusableadjective
-
unconfusableadjective
-
confusablyadverb
-
unconfusablyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confusesimple
-
confusessimple
-
have confusedperfect
-
has confusedperfect
-
am confusingprogressive
-
are confusingprogressive
-
is confusingprogressive
-
have been confusingperfect progressive
-
has been confusingperfect progressive
Past
-
confusedsimple
-
had confusedperfect
-
was confusingprogressive
-
were confusingprogressive
-
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
Keystone Exams: English Composition Glossary
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Revolver
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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:
Attackers can deliberately alter fake videos in subtle ways designed to confuse a detector and make manipulated footage appear authentic.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 1, 2026
‘Celebrity endorsements sell investments for the same reason they sell shoes: People confuse familiarity with trust.’
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
Megan Kielthy, who passed her driving test in August, said social media videos "definitely" saved her money, but she also had seen AI-generated images and misinformation that she had warned could confuse learners.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Either Bass or Raman could win, but if the public’s understanding of the markets is murky, experts say, voters may confuse their speculation for certainty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Don’t confuse this with enormousness, because enormity isn’t a measure of size alone.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
That claim confuses the moral freedom of individuals with a particular religious or institutional order.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
This creates what is known as the doorway effect, which confuses our brains.
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
“It confuses me that we’re struggling with that as a society. Internet access is a basic need.”
From Salon ● Apr. 26, 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’m like Mom—not a big jazz fan; it confuses me because it doesn’t have a tune.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
That finding is important because the reduction in D3 should not be confused with evidence that D2 is ineffective.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
On social media, dozens of people have posted about receiving the message - confused as to what it means.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Seafarers on nearby vessels heard the warning but appeared confused about which ship the U.S. was calling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“We never reach past 65, just for safety and to keep the actor from getting confused about how real the fighting is.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
It was hard to tell from upside down, but I thought the trolls looked a little confused.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Ockwell-Smith says the volume of advice can be "deafening and confusing".
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Charter Amendment PL is a bit confusing, but at its core it contains five proposals that would streamline and speed up certain L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
And, as I explained in my last column, bond gauges offer some confusing contradictions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
This is where things get confusing, as three days after the Missouri Supreme Court issued its ruling, Hoskins ran to the U.S.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
The days without my dad were also seriously confusing for me as a two-year-old.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
