confuse
//kənˈfjuːz//
Forms
- present (v1)
- confuse
- past (v2)
- confused
- past participle (v3)
- confused
- present participle
- confusing
- 3rd person singular
- confuses
Definitions
1.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.
- "What confuses me is how other insurance companies knew about it," said Zhang, a 26-year-old government employee from Shandong.
2.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.
3.To mix thoroughly; to confound; to disorder.
- The dense fog utterly confused traffic on the highway.
4.To be confused.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3303
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
Back-formation from confused
From Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”)
From Anglo-Norman confus
From Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō.