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:
Nor should its members confuse remembering everything with understanding anything.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
"Silkyara taught me never to confuse unlikely with impossible," he said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
From a distance, that makes it easy to confuse him with a coach but, given his role on the pitch, it is a fitting mistake.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
Bringing in extra mythology wouldn’t make the confusing parts any less confusing, and would just confuse the parts that aren’t confusing at all.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
But in many genres, numbered headings are not an option, and as we saw in chapter 2, excessive signposting can bore and confuse a reader.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
The fibers are engineered to a length that enables them to resonate, producing a return that confuses enemy radar or tricks radar-guided missiles into locking onto the wrong target.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 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
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
“I must admit, it confuses me that you are so eager foryour own execution.”
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
The small feline, about the size of a domestic moggy, went under the radar because it was confused with other wild cats that share similar spots and stripes.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
The only time Duterte had been seen since his arrest in March 2025 was an initial appearance via video, where he seemed confused and tired, his speech barely audible.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
It turns out, some CIOs are as confused as we are.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
Donald Trump was a busy man when the film “Starship Troopers” debuted to largely confused audiences in 1997.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
I stare at it, confused, so Jonesy shakes it a bit.
From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell
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
Setting AI budgets has turned out to be—and continues to be—a confusing nightmare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
I thought I wasn’t allowed to — it was discombobulating, confusing, and then just kind of gross.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
They were guilty of what economists refer to as te money illusion — confusing nominal dollar amounts with real, or inflation-adjusted, levels.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
It was a confusing feeling, happy and angry all at once.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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.
