Link Centre Dictionary

confuse

con·fuse

UK/kənˈfjuːz/ US/kənˈfjuz/ fairly common

verb

1.

mistake one thing for another

  • “you are confusing me with the other candidate”
  • “I mistook her for the secretary”
Synonyms
2.

be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly

  • “These questions confuse even the experts”
  • “This question completely threw me”
  • “This question befuddled even the teacher”
Synonyms
3.

cause to feel embarrassment

  • “The constant attention of the young man confused her”
Synonyms
4.

assemble without order or sense

  • “She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence”
Synonyms
5.

make unclear or incomprehensible

  • “The new tax return forms only confuse”
6.

make unclear, indistinct, or blurred

  • “Her remarks confused the debate”
  • “Their words obnubilate their intentions”
Synonyms

Origin

Back-formation from confused, from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus, from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō.

Phrases

  • be at a loss for words
  • get one's wires crossed
  • have one's wires crossed
  • leave speechless
  • throw somebody a curve
  • throw somebody for a loop
  • to get turned around

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.