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:
If you have more than one child, don’t confuse equality with fairness.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026
Soon, the highway cuts through miles of gray and white volcanic pumice and ash, creating a lunar-like landscape that manages to confuse the visual senses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
The Alaska Division of Elections barred the decoy on grounds he filed “with a purpose to confuse or mislead” voters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
Don't confuse your worst moment with the whole story of your life.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
“Mom says it’s so people don’t confuse me with Dad,” Bobby Gene said.
From "The Season of Styx Malone" by Kekla Magoon
It confuses people, convolutes them, merges records of people with similar names, and in general has been deemed unreliable by data experts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 2026
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
Day trader Alex Henderson confuses his betrothed Ashley Carpenter with a shifting backstory involving frequent moves and overlapping dating histories, all attributed to his “nomadic lifestyle.”
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 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
Looking confused, the Parrots deserved an Academy Award for their acting skills, because on their third play, quarterback King Exusdus took the snap from shotgun formation and sprinted 82 yards for a touchdown.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2026
Voters who spoke with the BBC in the state said they were confused over the move, with some questioning whether the congresswoman was acting out of anger.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
I’ve spoken to numerous supporters of the senator who are deeply confused.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
“There are a number of scenarios where it could be obvious that a voter was confused by the way they wrote down candidates,” Blanche told CNN on Sunday.
From Slate ● Oct. 28, 2026
Snow drifted down from a shattered skylight as I wandered, confused and frightened, through the cavernous station.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
So we spend a lot of time adjusting the size of the boxes on TV and deciding whether there are too many of them, and whether this is helpful information or confusing information.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
When its researchers asked Anthropic's Claude why voters should elect Representative Don Davis from North Carolina, the chatbot listed "former school superintendent" among his credentials, confusing him with a different person.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
L.A. residents have for years complained that navigating the Planning Department to build or open businesses is complicated and confusing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
This miscellaneous mix of protests can seem confusing.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
In each new phase, called an instar, a caterpillar might change color or texture—very confusing to naturalists like Maria.
From "The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian's Art Changed Science" by Joyce Sidman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
