confuse

UK: /kənˈfjuːz/ US: /kənˈfjuz/ ,(kən fyo̅o̅z′)

Inflections of 'confuse' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

confuses

v 3rd person singular

confusing

v pres p

confused

v past

confused

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

con•fuse /kənˈfyuz/   v. [~ + object] , -fused, -fus•ing. 

1. to cause to make a mistake;
   mix up:
   The flood of questions confused me.
2. to make hard to understand, unclear, or indistinct:
   Let's not confuse matters.
3. to fail to distinguish between (two things):
   I always confuse the twins.
   [~ + object + with + object]
   I always confuse one twin with the other.

Related Words

confuse is a verb, confusion is a noun, confused and confusing are adjectives:
All those numbers just confused me. The airport was a scene of confusion. Confused students looked at one another nervously. It was a confusing homework problem.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

con•fuse  (kən fyo̅o̅z′), v.t., -fused, -fus•ing. 

1. to perplex or bewilder:
   The flood of questions confused me.
2. to make unclear or indistinct:
   The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.
3. to fail to distinguish between; associate by mistake;
   confound:
   to confuse dates; He always confuses the twins.
4. to disconcert or abash:
   His candor confused her.
5. to combine without order;
   jumble;
   disorder:
   Try not to confuse the papers on the desk.
6. [Archaic.] to bring to ruin or naught.

• Latin confūsus, past participle of confundere; see confound
• Anglo-French confus (with -ed -ed² maintaining participial sense)
• back formation from confused (since early 19th century), Middle English confused

con•fus′a•ble, adj. 
con•fus′a•bil′i•ty, n. 
con•fus′a•bly, adv. 
con•fus•ed•ly  (kən fyo̅o̅′zid lē, -fyo̅o̅zd′-), adv.  con•fus′ed•ness, n. 
Synonyms

• 1. mystify, nonplus.
  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.
• 4. mortify, shame.
• 5. disarray, disarrange, disturb.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

confuse / kənˈfjuːz/ verb (transitive)

1. to bewilder; perplex
2. to mix up (things, ideas, etc); jumble
3. to make unclear: he confused his talk with irrelevant details
4. to fail to recognize the difference between; mistake (one thing) for another
5. to disconcert; embarrass
6. to cause to become disordered: the enemy ranks were confused by gas

Etymology: 18th Century: back formation from confused, from Latin confūsus mingled together, from confundere to pour together; see confound

conˈfusable adjective , noun