Meaning of confuse in English
Verb
confuseEtymology
Middle English (in the sense ‘rout, bring to ruin’): from Old French confus, from Latin confusus, past participle of confundere‘mingle together’ (see confound). Originally all senses of the verb were passive, and therefore appeared only as the past participle confused; the active voice occurred rarely until the 19th century when it began to replace confoundDefinitions
1. mistake one thing for anotherExamples
- « you are confusing me with the other candidate »
- « I mistook her for the secretary »
- 2. be confusing or perplexing to
Examples
- « cause to be unable to think clearly »
- « These questions confuse even the experts »
- « This question completely threw me »
- « This question befuddled even the teacher »
- 3. cause to feel embarrassment
Examples
- « The constant attention of the young man confused her »
- 4. assemble without order or sense
Examples
- « She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence »
- 5. make unclear or incomprehensible
Examples
- « The new tax return forms only confuse »
- 6. make unclear, indistinct, or blurred
Examples
- « Her remarks confused the debate »
- « Their words obnubilate their intentions »