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ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Confuse

/kənˈfjuːz/ · verb

Meaning

(transitive) to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand.

Definitions by Sense

  1. (transitive) to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand
  2. (transitive) To mix up, muddle up (one thing with another); to mistake (one thing for another).
  3. (transitive) To mix thoroughly; to confound; to disorder.
  4. (transitive, dated) To make uneasy and ashamed; to embarrass.
  5. (transitive, obsolete) To rout; discomfit.
  6. (intransitive) To be confused.
  7. (obsolete) Synonym of confused.

Example Sentences

It confused me when I went to the office and nobody was there, but then I realised it was Sunday.
"What confuses me is how other insurance companies knew about it," said Zhang, a 26-year-old government employee from Shandong.
President Donald Trump’s offer to most federal employees to resign now and be paid through September stunned the workers who received it – angering some, confusing many and raising questions about whether the offer is even legal.
People who say "hola" to Italians are confusing Italian with Spanish.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Saturday questioned Donald Trump’s mental fitness after he appeared to confuse her with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi when talking about the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. […] “They’re saying he got confused. That he was talking about something else. That he was talking about Nancy Pelosi. He mentioned me multiples times in that scenario,” the former South Carolina governor added.
The dense fog utterly confused traffic on the highway.
Moꝛe ouer take away oꝛdre from all thynges / what ſhulde than remayne? certes nothynge finally / except ſome man wolde imagine eftſones / Chaos: whiche of ſome is expounde a cõfuse mixture: […]
The 11. article is ſo confuſe that it is harde to bring it into any certeine numbre of demandes.

Synonyms for confuse

flummoxmistakeaddlebaffleloseembroilstickstumpbaffoundbamboozlebedevilbefuddlethrowbemudbemusebewilderbumfuzzlecomplicateconfoundconfuddleconfuseconfuzzledazzlediscombobulatedisconcertblinddumbfoundentangleferhoodleflabagast

Antonyms for confuse

clarifydistinguishenlighteninspirejudicatemediateorganizeorganisereconcilestabilizeelucidateclearilluminateshed light oncrystallizesort outstraighten outclear up

Related Words

befuddleconfounddiscombobulatefuddlejumbledisconcertconsternatebedevilobscuremistakeput offblurthrowmix upflurryfoxboggledisruptdisturbdisorientate

Word Forms

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does confuse mean?

Confuse means (transitive) to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand.

What is a synonym for confuse?

Common synonyms include flummox, mistake, addle, baffle.

What is the opposite of confuse?

Possible antonyms include clarify, distinguish, enlighten, inspire.

How do you use confuse in a sentence?

It confused me when I went to the office and nobody was there, but then I realised it was Sunday.

Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dictionary data is provided by FreeDictionaryAPI.com and sourced from Wiktionary under its stated license.