confuse
UK /kənˈfjuːz/ · US /kənˈfjuz/ verb, adjective
Forms confuses confusing confused
- verb (transitive) To puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand. “It confused me when I went to the office and nobody was there, but then I realised it was Sunday.”
- verb (transitive) To mix up, muddle up (one thing with another); to mistake (one thing for another). “People who say "hola" to Italians are confusing Italian with Spanish.”
- verb (transitive) To mix thoroughly; to confound; to disorder. “The dense fog utterly confused traffic on the highway.”
- verb (transitive, dated) To make uneasy and ashamed; to embarrass.
- verb (transitive, obsolete) To rout; discomfit.
- verb (intransitive) To be confused.
- adjective (obsolete) Synonym of confused.
Synonyms
flummox mistake addle baffle vex lose embroil stick stump baffound bamboozle bedevil befuddle throw bemud bemuse bewilder bumfuzzle complicate confound fox fuddle discombobulate flurry disconcert put off jumble mix up blur obscure
Antonyms
clarify distinguish enlighten inspire judicate mediate organize organise reconcile stabilize
Etymology
Back-formation from confused, from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus, from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō.
From Middle English confus, from Old French confus, from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Mixed; confounded. [Obs.] Baret.
- verb To mix or blend so that things can not be distinguished; to jumble together; to confound; to render indistinct or obscure; as, to confuse accounts; to confuse one's vision.
- verb To perplex; to disconcert; to abash; to cause to lose self-possession.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “confuse”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details