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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

con·fuse

Audio Help [kuh

n-fyooz] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object), -fused, -fus·ing.

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.

[Origin: back formation from confused (since early 19th century), ME confused < AF confus (with -ed -ed² maintaining participial sense) < L confūsus, ptp. of confundere; see confound

]

—Related forms

con·fus·a·ble, adjective

con·fus·a·bil·i·ty, noun

con·fus·a·bly, adverb

con·fus·ed·ly

Audio Help [kuh

n-fyoo-zid-lee, -fyoozd-] Pronunciation Key, adverb

con·fus·ed·ness, noun

—Synonyms 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

con·fuse Audio Help   (kən-fyōōz') Pronunciation Key
v.   con·fused, con·fus·ing, con·fus·es

v.   tr.

1. To cause to be unable to think with clarity or act with intelligence or understanding; throw off.
2. To cause to feel embarrassment.
3. To mistake (for another): confused effusiveness with affection.
4. To make opaque; blur: "The old labels ... confuse debate instead of clarifying it" (Christopher Lasch).
5. To assemble without order or sense; jumble.
1. To mistake (for another): confused effusiveness with affection.
2. To make opaque; blur: "The old labels ... confuse debate instead of clarifying it" (Christopher Lasch).
3. To assemble without order or sense; jumble.
Archaic To bring to ruination.

v. intr.
To make something unclear or incomprehensible: a new tax code that only further confuses.

[Middle English confusen, from Old French confus, perplexed, from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundere, to mix together; see confound.]

con·fus'a·ble adj., con·fus'ing·ly adv.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to cause to be unclear in mind or intent: heavy traffic that confused the driver; problems that addle my brain; a question that befuddled even the professor; was discombobulated by all of the possibilities; a complex plot line that fuddled my comprehension; a student who was muddled by endless facts and figures; behavior that really threw me.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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con·fused Audio Help (kən-fyōōzd') Pronunciation Key
adj.

Being unable to think with clarity or act with understanding and intelligence.
1. Lacking logical order or sense: a confused set of instructions.
2. Chaotic; jumbled: a confused mass of papers on the floor.

con·fus'ed·ly (-fyōō'zĭd-lē) adv., con·fus'ed·ness n.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

confused
adjective
1.	perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment; "obviously bemused by his questions"; "bewildered and confused"; "a cloudy and confounded philosopher"; "just a mixed-up kid"; "she felt lost on the first day of school"
2.	lacking orderly continuity; "a confused set of instructions"; "a confused dream about the end of the world"; "disconnected fragments of a story"; "scattered thoughts"
3.	having lost your bearings; confused as to time or place or personal identity; "I frequently find myself disoriented when I come up out of the subway"; "the anesthetic left her completely disoriented"
4.	thrown into a state of disarray or confusion; "troops fleeing in broken ranks"; "a confused mass of papers on the desk"; "the small disordered room"; "with everything so upset" [syn: broken]
5.	mentally confused; unable to think with clarity or act intelligently; "the flood of questions left her bewildered and confused" [ant: clear-thinking]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
conˈfused1 adjective

mixed up
Example: The message I received was rather confused.

Arabic:	مُلْتَبِس
Chinese (Simplified):	混乱的
Chinese (Traditional):	混亂的
Czech:	zmatený
Danish:	forvirrende
Dutch:	verward
Estonian:	segane
Finnish:	sekava
French:	confus
German:	verworren
Greek:	συγκεχυμένος
Hungarian:	zavaros
Icelandic:	ruglingslegur, óskipulegur
Indonesian:	kacau
Italian:	confuso

Japanese:	混乱した
Korean:	뒤죽박죽인
Latvian:	neskaidrs; sajaukts
Lithuanian:	painus, miglotas
Norwegian:	forvirret, forvirrende, rotet
Polish:	pogmatwany
Portuguese (Brazil):	confuso
Portuguese (Portugal):	confuso
Romanian:	confuz
Russian:	запутанный
Slovak:	zmätený
Slovenian:	nejasen
Spanish:	confundido, desconcertado, confuso
Swedish:	rörig, oredig
Turkish:	anlaşılmaz

conˈfused2 adjective

mixed up in the mind
Example: in a confused state of mind

Arabic:	مُرْتَبِك
Chinese (Simplified):	弄糊涂的
Chinese (Traditional):	弄糊塗的
Czech:	zmatený
Danish:	forvirret
Dutch:	verward
Estonian:	segaduses
Finnish:	sekava
French:	troublé
German:	verwirrt
Greek:	σαστισμένος
Hungarian:	összezavart
Icelandic:	ruglaður, ringlaður
Indonesian:	bingung
Italian:	confuso

Japanese:	まごついた
Korean:	갈피를 못 잡는; 혼란한
Latvian:	apmulsis
Lithuanian:	pasimetęs, sutrikęs
Norwegian:	forvirret, forfjamset
Polish:	skonfundowany
Portuguese (Brazil):	confuso, perturbado
Portuguese (Portugal):	confuso
Romanian:	tulburat
Russian:	поставленный в тупик
Slovak:	zmätený
Slovenian:	zmeden
Spanish:	confuso
Swedish:	förvirrad
Turkish:	şaşırmış, aklı karışmış