1
as in to bewilder
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
the similar-sounding words "censure" and "censor" often confuse people
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Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to complicate
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
stop confusing the issue with irrelevant facts
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to mistake
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
a lot of people confuse popular fame with enduring achievement
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4
as in to embarrass
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
she was confused by the shocking bluntness of his marriage proposal
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5
as in to disrupt
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
vandals had hopelessly confused the papers in the office files
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of confuse
Google often swaps out its name on its homepage for doodles or designs that use red, yellow, green, and blue colors that match its branding, so this could be confused for Google's homepage.
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Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 7 Jan. 2025
What is a National Day of Mourning? Not to be confused with the National Day of Mourning that occurs on Thanksgiving, Thursday’s National Day of Mourning is meant to give people space to pay their respects to Carter.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 7 Jan. 2025
Brooke Bardin, a licensed clinical social worker and director of Clinical Quality Assurance in Los Angeles, pointed out that ADHD can sometimes be confused for other conditions.
—Melissa Rudy, Fox News, 7 Jan. 2025
This specific design broke the decoy’s shape into smaller visual fragments, confusing the predators.
—Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for confuse 
Jibin Joseph, PCMAG, 7 Jan. 2025
What is a National Day of Mourning? Not to be confused with the National Day of Mourning that occurs on Thanksgiving, Thursday’s National Day of Mourning is meant to give people space to pay their respects to Carter.
—Addy Bink, The Hill, 7 Jan. 2025
Brooke Bardin, a licensed clinical social worker and director of Clinical Quality Assurance in Los Angeles, pointed out that ADHD can sometimes be confused for other conditions.
—Melissa Rudy, Fox News, 7 Jan. 2025
This specific design broke the decoy’s shape into smaller visual fragments, confusing the predators.
—Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for confuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confuse
Verb
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The animals are nervous, exhausted, aggressive and bewildered by this alarming change to their routine.Dennis Harvey, Variety, 8 Jan. 2025
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His childhood friends from Thunder Bay and his teammates on the Canadian national team seemed bewildered by the charges against him.Jesse Hyde, Rolling Stone, 4 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Mixing business and politics can be complicated, as Loeffler soon found out.Dan Alexander, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025
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Eventually, things get complicated when Lainy falls for her dream man Josh (Will Forte) and gets caught up in her growing lie.Angel Saunders, People.com, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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No one would credibly mistake the dignitaries on the north side of the National Cathedral as diehard fans of the man being honored Thursday for one last time in Washington, former President Jimmy Carter.Philip Elliott, TIME, 9 Jan. 2025
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No one would mistake Cleveland or Oklahoma City for a glamour market in free agency.Steven Louis Goldstein, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025
Verb
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But the fanbases of those games are not buying it, and have undergone a campaign to embarrass Musk as much as possible about his claims, dragging him into childish internet fights.Paul Tassi, Forbes, 17 Jan. 2025
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And, yes, some justices should also regret embarrassing the court by needlessly attracting attention to their ethics.Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 15 Jan. 2025
Verb
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While many organizations prioritize technology, additional areas outside the technological realm can disrupt security capabilities and affect vulnerability management.Dewayne Hart, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
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Amyloid plaques accumulate between neurons, disrupting communication and leading to memory loss and cognitive decline, while tau tangles accumulate inside neurons, disrupting their normal function and leading to neuronal death.Michael Gfoeller And David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement The enforcement has perplexed local immigrant advocates, who questioned why the Biden administration was using its final weeks to target Central Valley migrant workers for deportation.Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025
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The situation has perplexed Indian legal experts, with no precedent from which to work.Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 27 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The line between satire and disinformation continues to blur on social media, where the context of a post made in jest can be misunderstood to be a factual news report.Peter Suciu, Forbes, 13 Jan. 2025
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Yet activists pushing to blur these distinctions seem to believe gender ideology trumps fairness and safety.Kathy Szeliga, Baltimore Sun, 12 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The veteran coach believes one of the most difficult parts of the job for a rookie is absorbing the vast menu of third-down fronts and pressure packages defenses use to fluster passers.Nick Kosmider, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
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Minnesota’s defense flustered Jordan Love, Josh Jacobs and the Packers’ typically potent offense until midway through the fourth quarter.The Athletic NFL Staff, The Athletic, 29 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Confuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confuse. Accessed 21 Jan. 2025.
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