1
as in to bewilder
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
the similar-sounding words "censure" and "censor" often confuse people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to complicate
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
stop confusing the issue with irrelevant facts
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in to disrupt
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
vandals had hopelessly confused the papers in the office files
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in difficult
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in perplexing
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
the similar-sounding words "censure" and "censor" often confuse people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in complicating
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
stop confusing the issue with irrelevant facts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
as in embarrassing
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
she was confused by the shocking bluntness of his marriage proposal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in disrupting
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
vandals had hopelessly confused the papers in the office files
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of confuse
Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 25 Dec. 2024
Don’t give your heart away so freely, especially after Mercury retrograde begins in Aries on March 15, further confusing the terms of your relationships and situationships.
—Roya Backlund, StyleCaster, 23 Dec. 2024
Lots of readers weighed in on my Dec. 8 response to a woman’s query about disclosing her cancer treatment to colleagues who might be confused by the difference between the employee’s appearance on a video chat and her visage on her team photo.
—Anna Holmes, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2024
Biden mixes up French president with deceased predecessor Things got messier in February when Biden confused current French President Emmanuel Macron with former French President François Mitterrand — who died in 1996.
—Haisten Willis, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 25 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for confuse 
Verb
Some are confused by OSAC’s methods for distributing the funds and believe the pace of putting that money to work is worrisomely slow, given the lives at stake.
—Laura Tillman, Hartford Courant, 25 Dec. 2024
Don’t give your heart away so freely, especially after Mercury retrograde begins in Aries on March 15, further confusing the terms of your relationships and situationships.
—Roya Backlund, StyleCaster, 23 Dec. 2024
Lots of readers weighed in on my Dec. 8 response to a woman’s query about disclosing her cancer treatment to colleagues who might be confused by the difference between the employee’s appearance on a video chat and her visage on her team photo.
—Anna Holmes, New York Times, 22 Dec. 2024
Biden mixes up French president with deceased predecessor Things got messier in February when Biden confused current French President Emmanuel Macron with former French President François Mitterrand — who died in 1996.
—Haisten Willis, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 25 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for confuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confuse
Adjective
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An at least 200-year-old celebration of French and Mediterranean cuisine, macarons are renowned as the ‘impossible dessert,’ a result of the notoriously involved and difficult baking process.Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2024
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The manual entry of damage to structures like bridges used to be very expensive and time-consuming, a complex process made even more difficult by the fact that data entry and analysis are performed by both the agency’s own staff and external companies.Stephanie Glenk, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The theme’s implicit insouciance becomes perplexing when accompanied by scientific studies and even a World Health Organization report touting the healing properties of art.Michaëla de Lacaze Mohrmann, Artforum, 1 Jan. 2025
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Bolivia's bold women skateboarders, ponytail-making lessons, a perplexing COVID situation, fog harvesting.Marc Silver, NPR, 28 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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To fight pests, a technique called mRNA interference allows bioengineers to create a precision poison for a particularly troublesome beetle.Andrew Rosenblum, Popular Science, 26 Dec. 2024
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This is troublesome, since judges are not historians.Benedict Cosgrove, Newsweek, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Even following such an uplifting and dominant win, Newcastle’s baffling, up-and-down campaign demands such hesitancy.Chris Waugh, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
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Making this even more baffling was the choice not to include Spider-Man himself in these spinoffs, and the choice not to pit any of the villains against one another either.Mark Hughes, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Good palliative care can ensure that patients avoid unpleasant breathlessness, pain, nausea, and other symptoms.Mark Taubert, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
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At the same time, however, many people described unpleasant feelings associated with December.Madeline Fitzgerald, Quartz, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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What makes this casting choice more puzzling is that Milo Manheim sings and plays guitar with a rock god’s swagger as the Voice of Johnny.Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2024
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Yet the care in making sure the reveal went off without a hitch makes the concerns about Armstrong’s associations outside of and prior to joining Linkin Park all the more puzzling.Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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The upshot: slicing and dicing all of the above into discrete vehicles is impossible until Tesla actually announces the products.Brooke Crothers, Forbes, 22 Dec. 2024
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One of Spider-Man's core combat mechanics is reacting to flashes of his spider-sense, and lag renders that impossible.Matt Kamen, WIRED, 22 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Tech stacks have become unwieldy and difficult to justify, both financially and operationally.Michael Zuercher, Forbes, 20 Dec. 2024
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This will give it better balance and make the saw feel less heavy and unwieldy.Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 Oct. 2024
Articles Related to confuse
Thesaurus Entries Near confuse
Cite this Entry
“Confuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confuse. Accessed 7 Jan. 2025.
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