confusing
[kuh n-fyoo-zing]
- causing or tending to cause confusion: a confusing attempt at explanation.
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Origin of confusing
confuse
[kuh n-fyooz]
- 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.
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Origin of confuse
Synonyms
See more synonyms for confuse on Thesaurus.com1. mystify, nonplus. 4. mortify, shame. 5. disarray, disarrange, disturb.
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. 2018
Examples from the Web for confusing
Contemporary Examples
The confusing thing, however, is Lopez has never been hotter.
The Biggest Bombs of 2014: ‘Sex Tape,’ Mariah Carey’s Vocals, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and MoreKevin Fallon
December 19, 2014
That this kind of episode was The Newsroom finale was…confusing.
We might as well begin with the most confusing and, frankly, suspect person in all of Serial.
The Scoop on ‘Serial’: Making Sense of The Nisha Call, Asia's Letters, and Our ObsessionEmily Shire
December 11, 2014
Taylor Swift: Aerobicized The 1980s were a confusing time for America.
Jimmy Kimmel Pranks Kids (Again), Taylor Swift’s 1989 Aerobics, and More Viral VideosThe Daily Beast Video
November 9, 2014
On top of inciting violence that led to the death of a 16-year-old boy, it was confusing to residents.
Historical Examples
Some sweet, confusing influence, he knew not what, passed into his blood.
Beauty and The Beast, and Tales From HomeBayard Taylor
The reader should take note of this term and refrain from confusing it with the sails.
Boys' Book of Model BoatsRaymond Francis Yates
She had often been on errands alone in the great city, where everything was so confusing.
The din is so confusing, and your aunt is quite right—one ought to make a list.
Howards EndE. M. Forster
He may be described as confusing the attraction of gravitation with the attraction of cohesion.
TimaeusPlato
confusing
- causing bewilderment; difficult to follow; puzzling
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confuse
- 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
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Word Origin
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper