confuse

[kuhn-fyooz]

verb (used with object)

confused, confusing 

1. to perplex or bewilder.

   The flood of questions confused me.

   Synonyms: nonplus, mystify

2. to make unclear or indistinct.

   The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.

3. to fail to distinguish between; associate by mistake; confound.

   to confuse dates;

   He always confuses the twins.

4. to disconcert or abash.

   His candor confused her.

   Synonyms: shame, mortify, embarrass

5. to combine without order; jumble; disorder.

   Try not to confuse the papers on the desk.

   Synonyms: disturb, disarrange, disarray

6. Archaic.,  to bring to ruin or naught.

confuse

/ kənˈfjuːz /

verb

1. to bewilder; perplex

2. to mix up (things, ideas, etc); jumble

3. to make unclear

   he confused his talk with irrelevant details

4. to fail to recognize the difference between; mistake (one thing) for another

5. to disconcert; embarrass

6. to cause to become disordered

   the enemy ranks were confused by gas

Other Word Forms

• confusable adjective
• confusability noun
• confusably adverb
• preconfuse verb (used with object)
• reconfuse verb (used with object)
• unconfusable adjective
• unconfusably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of confuse¹

First recorded in 1300–50; from Old French confus “perplexed,” from Latin confūsus “mixed, poured,” past participle of confundere; confound

Word History and Origins

Origin of confuse¹

C18: back formation from confused, from Latin confūsus mingled together, from confundere to pour together; see _confound

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Huge foreign-policy swings in recent years have confused and weakened allies, damaged complex trading relationships, and created opportunities for enemies to seize advantage in the resulting chaos.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The campaigner said she believed signage around the council's parking changes was confusing and intended as a money-making exercise.

Read more on BBC

County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant rejected the county’s position, writing in a July decision that its lawyers are “confusing the public’s general lack of access … with whether official photographs are a public record.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Officials hastily executed a confusing U-turn, pumping cash back into the system.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

First, don’t confuse deal volume with market health.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• amaze 
• astonish 
• baffle 
• befuddle 
• bemuse 
• complicate 
• confound 
• daze 
• demoralize 
• disconcert 
• disorient 
• distract 
• embarrass 
• fluster 
• frustrate 
• involve 
• misinform 
• mislead 
• mortify 
• muddle