confuse 1 of 3

1
2
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
5

confusing

2 of 3

adjective

confusing

3 of 3

verb (2)

present participle of confuse
1
2
3
as in mistaking
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related a lot of people confuse popular fame with enduring achievement

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

4
5

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of confuse
Verb
Other changes, such as the introduction of a more restrictive Basic Economy fare (similar to those offered by American, Delta, and United), could be frustrating for travelers, especially those who appreciated that Southwest didn’t have confusing ticket tiers. Bailey Berg, AFAR Media, 11 Mar. 2025 All of that is now confusing a large swath of the US economy, according to the NFIB’s latest survey. Bryan Mena, CNN, 11 Mar. 2025 Cue 30 minutes of singing and me and my husband being completely confused the entire time. Erin Clack, People.com, 10 Mar. 2025 The smiles on the mound Friday night are what confused the family of Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer the most. Doug Padilla, Orange County Register, 8 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for confuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confuse
Adjective
  • Additionally, generative AI maintains a detailed record of its decisions, offering a level of transparency that can be difficult to achieve in human decision making.
    David Paffenholz, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • The worst of this is during residency, where 80-plus hour work weeks, 24-plus hour shifts, and difficult on-call schedules are the norm.
    Christopher M. Worsham, TIME, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Why our leader makes these drastic decisions to benefit the earlier mentioned Vladimir is perplexing and there are plenty of juicy explanations in circulation.
    Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 14 Mar. 2025
  • However, what was perplexing was with with seconds dwindling on the clock in the fourth quarter, down one, the Yellow Jackets Tonie Morgan brings the ball up the court and passes it off to Dani Carnegie.
    Allison Smith, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Brown said many large-cap stocks in the Nasdaq 100 index share troublesome characteristics with Tesla shares.
    Yun Li, CNBC, 11 Mar. 2025
  • The ease with which people can bet from apps on their phones and the vast array of available bets make online sports wagering particularly troublesome, experts told NBC News.
    Jessica Boehm, Axios, 10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • One huge factor here is that Wilds did not have a somewhat baffling Switch-only launch like Rise did, accounting for almost all of this huge sales gap.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025
  • Even more baffling: Lemons went back to work just three weeks later!
    Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, 28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • That leads to the second point: automating boring tasks, or delegating unpleasant things to the AI itself.
    John Werner, Forbes, 9 Mar. 2025
  • Seed oils are typically made by pressing or crushing the seeds and then processing them further with chemicals and heat to remove elements that can leave the oil cloudy or with an unpleasant taste or odor.
    Jonel Aleccia, Chicago Tribune, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Nonetheless, his recent slump is somewhat puzzling.
    Graham Ruthven, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2025
  • Merz’s gamble is all the more puzzling because immigration is only one of voters’ many major concerns.
    Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • What's next: President Trump recently asked Congress to better fund his deportation and border security goals, which will be nearly impossible to achieve without more money, as Axios' Brittany Gibson and Russell Contreras report.
    Alex Fitzpatrick, Axios, 10 Mar. 2025
  • But dodging it’s nearly impossible for most New Yorkers, so the dread just keeps simmering.
    Staff report, Hartford Courant, 10 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The New York Yankees injury list is reaching unwieldy levels.
    Russel Honoré, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2025
  • The result is a system that makes traditional notions of childhood – with its unwieldy dependencies, its inefficient play and its demands for attention and care – increasingly untenable.
    Anna Mae Duane, The Conversation, 5 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Confuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confuse. Accessed 19 Mar. 2025.

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