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confusing

[kuh n-fyoo-zing]
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adjective

causing or tending to cause confusion: a confusing attempt at explanation.

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RELATED WORDS

perplexing, upsetting, baffling, complex, complicated, difficult, confounding, disconcerting, bewildering, mystifying, unsettling, involved, disorienting

Nearby words

  1. confucius,
  2. confuse,
  3. confused,
  4. confused elderly,
  5. confused flour beetle,
  6. confusion,
  7. confusticate,
  8. confutation,
  9. confute,
  10. cong

Origin of confusing

First recorded in 1840–50; confuse + -ing2
Related formscon·fus·ing·ly, adverbcon·fus·ing·ness, nounun·con·fus·ing, adjective

confuse

[kuhn-fyooz]

verb (used with object), con·fused, con·fus·ing.

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.
Archaic. to bring to ruin or naught.

Origin of confuse

back formation from confused (since early 19th century), Middle English confused < Anglo-French confus (with -ed -ed2 maintaining participial sense) < Latin confūsus, past participle of confundere; see confound
Related forms

Synonym study

1. 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.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for confusing

British Dictionary definitions for confusing

confusing

adjective

causing bewilderment; difficult to follow; puzzling
Derived Formsconfusingly, adverb

confuse

verb (tr)

to bewilder; perplex
to mix up (things, ideas, etc); jumble
to make unclearhe 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 disorderedthe enemy ranks were confused by gas
Derived Formsconfusable, adjective, nounconfusability, noun

Word Origin for confuse

C18: back formation from confused, from Latin confūsus mingled together, from confundere to pour together; see confound
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for confusing

confuse

v.

1550s, in literal sense "mix or mingle things so as to render the elements indistinguishable;" attested from mid-18c. in active, figurative sense of "discomfit in mind or feeling;" not in general use until 19c., taking over senses formerly belonging to confound, dumbfound, flabbergast etc. The past participle confused (q.v.) is attested much earlier (serving as an alternative past tense to confound), and the verb here might be a back-formation from it. Related: Confusing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper