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
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confuse
Some may confuse this location with the other Hutchins BBQ in Frisco or McKinney.
—
Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Feb. 2025
Activists on college campuses have confused the ability to occupy and disrupt physical space for the right to dissent verbally.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
The employee recounted how the customer, seemingly annoyed, gestured under his chin in a manner that initially confused her.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025
The low-stakes story (co-written with the director’s wife, Jerusha Hess) was hugely meme-able but still confusing to critics in the mostly pre-internet age.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for confuse
Ella Gonzales, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Feb. 2025
Activists on college campuses have confused the ability to occupy and disrupt physical space for the right to dissent verbally.
—Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2025
The employee recounted how the customer, seemingly annoyed, gestured under his chin in a manner that initially confused her.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025
The low-stakes story (co-written with the director’s wife, Jerusha Hess) was hugely meme-able but still confusing to critics in the mostly pre-internet age.
—Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for confuse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confuse
Verb
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Unenlightened of the brownie’s incredible taste, I was bewildered by the perfect combination of these three types of chocolate.—
Mia Leimkuhler,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2025
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The appeal bewilders attorneys for the 300,000 plaintiffs who each missed out on $3,000 when DeWine cut off the benefits in June 2021 — 10 weeks before they were set to expire.—
Sam Allard,
Axios,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The love triangle is already complicated by the intrusive memories of Mark’s outie, who is pining after the specter of his dead wife, Gemma (Dichen Lachman), but the situation reaches unprecedented messiness after Helena Eagan tracks down Mark’s outie in a restaurant and flirts with him.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
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The questions were as straightforward as the technicalities were complicated: how should Gaza be governed and reconstructed after the Israel-Hamas war is over, without having to resort to ethnic cleansing?—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Misdiagnosis of early symptoms – In long-term care, Listeria symptoms like fever and muscle aches can be mistaken for general health decline, delaying treatment.—
Stephanie Gravalese,
Forbes,
23 Feb. 2025
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The abruptness of their removal from the facility, however, shouldn’t be mistaken for a broader lack of planning.—
Jonathan Blitzer,
The New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The rest would sooner expect the AfD to embarrass Germany than to save it.—
Simon Shuster/Berlin,
TIME,
22 Feb. 2025
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The rapper has famously pressed people (and embarrassed them) regarding giving him monies owed on social media.—
Amber Corrine,
VIBE.com,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Canal authorities were forced to reduce the transits from a typical 36 a day to 24, disrupting global supply chains.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN,
21 Feb. 2025
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Then, in 2020, Covid restrictions disrupted her income flow and offended her sense of individual rights.—
Meridith Kohut,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Sociologists have been perplexed at the scale and stubbornness of the decline in fertility, which does not appear to be materially impacted by various governments' attempts to intervene with supposedly birth-inducing policies like tax credits.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
14 Feb. 2025
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For years, astronomers have been perplexed by this particular supermassive black hole, a behemoth as large as a million suns in a distant galaxy.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA TODAY,
14 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Created by Eric Newman, Noah Oppenheim and Michael S. Schmidt, Zero Day is a gripping, thought-provoking and all-too-timely six-part limited series about how a strategic cyberattack can affect our faith in national security, ignite a wide array of conspiracies and blur the perception of facts.—
Jeff Conway,
Forbes,
20 Feb. 2025
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Drawn out over an almost one month period after the initial attack, the lines between fact and fiction blur pretty fast in Zero Day, just like in our echo chamber America.—
Dominic Patten,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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If someone isn’t flustered by [nontraditional interview questions] and can have really strategic and thoughtful conversations ...—
Megan Sauer,
CNBC,
3 Feb. 2025
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In the playoffs, Spagnuolo dialed up a signature blitz that left Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo flustered.—
Shreyas Laddha,
Kansas City Star,
3 Feb. 2025
Articles Related to confuse
Cite this Entry
“Confuse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confuse. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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