confuse
-
—confusable, adj. —confusability, n. —confusably, adv. —confusedly /keuhn fyooh"zid lee, -fyoohzd"-/, adv. —confusedness, n.1. to perplex or bewilder: The flood of questions confused me.2. to make unclear or indistinct: The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.3. to fail to distinguish between; associate by mistake; confound: to confuse dates; He always confuses the twins.4. to disconcert or abash: His candor confused her.5. to combine without order; jumble; disorder: Try not to confuse the papers on the desk.6. Archaic. to bring to ruin or naught.[back formation from confused (since early 19th century), ME confused < AF confus (with -ed -ED2 maintaining participial sense) < L confusus, ptp. of confundere; see CONFOUND]Syn. 1. mystify, nonplus. CONFUSE, DISCONCERT, EMBARRASS imply temporary interference with the clear working of one's mind. TO CONFUSE is to produce a general bewilderment: to confuse someone by giving complicated directions. TO DISCONCERT is to disturb one's mind by irritation, perplexities, etc.: to disconcert someone by asking irrelevant questions. TO EMBARRASS is to cause one to be ill at ease or uncomfortable, so that one's usual judgment and presence of mind desert one: to embarrass someone by unexpected rudeness. 4. mortify, shame. 5. disarray, disarrange, disturb.
* * *
Universalium. 2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
Confuse — Con*fuse , v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confused}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confusing}.] 1. To mix or blend so that things can not be distinguished; to jumble together; to confound; to render indistinct or obscure; as, to confuse accounts; to confuse one s… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
confuse — 1 Confuse, muddle, addle, fuddle, befuddle mean to throw one out mentally so that one cannot think clearly or act intelligently. Confuse usually implies intense embarrassment or bewilderment {you confuse me, and how can I transact business if I… … New Dictionary of Synonyms
confuse — I (bewilder) verb abash, addle, astonish, baffle, befog, befuddle, bemuddle, confound, confundere, daze, discompose, disconcert, distract, embarrass, flurry, fluster, fog, jumble, mislead, mix up, muddle, mystify, nonplus, obfuscate, permiscere,… … Law dictionary
confuse — [v1] bewilder someone abash, addle, amaze, astonish, baffle, becloud, bedevil, befuddle, bemuse, cloud, clutter, complicate, confound, darken, daze, demoralize, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, discountenance, disorient, distract, embarrass,… … New thesaurus
Confuse — Con*fuse , a. [F. confus, L. confusus, p. p. of confundere. See {Confound}.] Mixed; confounded. [Obs.] Baret. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
confuse — 1550s, in literal sense mix or mingle things so as to render the elements indistinguishable; attested from mid 18c. in active, figurative sense of discomfit in mind or feeling; not in general use until 19c., taking over senses formerly belonging… … Etymology dictionary
confuse — ► VERB 1) make bewildered or perplexed. 2) make less easy to understand. 3) mistake (one for another). DERIVATIVES confusable adjective. ORIGIN from Latin confusus, from confundere mix up … English terms dictionary
confuse — [kən fyo͞oz′] vt. confused, confusing [ME confusen < confus, perplexed < OFr < L confusus, pp. of confundere: see CONFOUND] 1. to mix up; jumble together; put into disorder 2. to mix up mentally; specif., a) to bewilder; perplex b) to… … English World dictionary
confuse */*/ — UK [kənˈfjuːz] / US [kənˈfjuz] verb [transitive] Word forms confuse : present tense I/you/we/they confuse he/she/it confuses present participle confusing past tense confused past participle confused 1) to make someone feel that they do not… … English dictionary
confuse — 01. Everyone [confuses] me for my sister because we look so much alike. 02. Some of the questions on the test were really [confusing] for me. 03. Some of the questions on the test really [confused] me. 04. I always get [confused] between the past … Grammatical examples in English
