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.
Origin of confuse
back formation from confused (since early 19th century), Middle English confused<Anglo-French confus (with -ed-ed2 maintaining participial sense) <Latin confūsus, past participle of confundere;see confound
SYNONYMS FOR confuse
1 mystify, nonplus.
4 mortify, shame.
5 disarray, disarrange, disturb.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR confuse ON THESAURUS.COM
synonym study for confuse
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.
con·fus·ed·ness,nounpre·con·fuse,verb (used with object),pre·con·fused,pre·con·fus·ing.pre·con·fus·ed·ly,adverbre·con·fuse,verb (used with object),re·con·fused,re·con·fus·ing.su·per·con·fused,adjectiveun·con·fus·a·ble,adjectiveun·con·fus·a·bly,adverbun·con·fused,adjectiveun·con·fus·ed·ly,adverb
Upside down and confused, the owl relaxed its wings, and I used my free arm to tuck them first against its body and then the body against me as though holding a swaddled newborn child.
The quest to snare—and save—the world’s largest owl|Jonathan Slaght|August 28, 2020|Popular Science
These products could confuse consumers into accidentally ingesting a potentially deadly product.
FDA: Please, don’t drink hand sanitizer—even if it’s sold in… a beer can?|Beth Mole|August 27, 2020|Ars Technica
Now, they are swimming in confusing murky waters when it comes to making decisions.
The CDC’s new COVID-19 testing guidelines could make the pandemic worse|Sara Kiley Watson|August 27, 2020|Popular Science
Proponents of the change argue that being associated with China has become problematic during the coronavirus pandemic because border agents tend to confuse them with citizens of communist China where Covid-19 is believed to have originated from.
A quirky passport design contest evokes Taiwan’s search for national identity|Anne Quito|August 25, 2020|Quartz
Even the Democratic activists and insiders I spoke with who strongly support the party’s historical role in advancing underrepresented groups emerged from the 2016 election frightened and confused by its results.
How Clinton’s Loss Paved The Way For Biden|Seth Masket|August 20, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Until then, men shall all wearily grow our facial hair, wear flannel, and confuse the hell out of each other out on the streets.
How Straight World Stole ‘Gay’: The Last Gasp of the ‘Lumbersexual’|Tim Teeman|November 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One gets the sense that they are wearing a mask to confuse their readers, and even to evade them.
Sor Juana: Mexico’s Most Erotic Poet and Its Most Dangerous Nun|Katie Baker|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Stephen Collins is just an actor, of course, and no one should confuse him with a character he played on TV.
‘7th Heaven’ Dad Stephen Collins and the Christian Right’s Real Morality Tale|Amanda Marcotte|October 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This, in fact, is one of their big arguments and it works well to confuse base lines.
Our Trip to The Climate War's Ground Zero|Darren Aronofsky|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The increase in recognition of autism spectrum disorders in Western countries continues to confound and confuse.
No, Stem Cells Don't Cause Autism|Kent Sepkowitz|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Often the presence of a counteracting, or modifying cause may confuse us; IV.
The Art of Logical Thinking|William Walker Atkinson
No foreign tongue can confuse him; his thoughts find a medium of expression intelligible to all.
Manasseh|Maurus Jokai
This is why they confuse the categorical and the universal with the hypothetical.