confuse

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to mistake one thing for another

   I confused the two famous musicians as they looked very similar.

2. 2
   verb

   to make unclear, indistinct, or blurred

   Their remarks confused the debate.

3. 3
   verb

   to be confusing or perplexing to

   I confused the reporter with conflicting facts.

4. 4
   verb

   to assemble without order or sense

   I've confused the whole drawer now.

5. 5
   verb

   to cause to feel embarrassment

   The constant attention of the youth confused them.

6. 6
   verb

   to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand

   It confused me when I went to the office and nobody was there, but then I realised it was Sunday.

7. 7
   verb

   To mix up, muddle up (one thing with another); to mistake (one thing for another).

   People who say "hola" to Italians are confusing Italian with Spanish.

8. 8
   verb

   To mix thoroughly; to confound; to disorder.

   The dense fog utterly confused traffic on the highway.

Etymology

Back-formation from confused, from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus, from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō.