confuse

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈfjuːz/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uːz

Verb

confuse (third-person singular simple present confuses, present participle confusing, simple past and past participle confused)

1. (transitive) 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.

2. (transitive) 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.

3. (transitive) To mix thoroughly; to confound; to disorder.
4. (transitive, dated) To make uneasy and ashamed; to embarrass.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To rout; discomfit.
6. (intransitive) To be confused.

Synonyms

• flummox
• mistake
• See also Thesaurus:confuse

Related terms

• confused
• confusing
• confusion

Translations

to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder somebody

• Arabic: أَرْبَكَ‎ (ʾarbaka), حَيَّرَ‎ (ḥayyara)
• Azerbaijani: çaşdırmaq, çaş-baş etmək, karıxdırmaq
• Bulgarian: обърквам (bg) (obǎrkvam), смущавам (bg) (smuštavam)
• Catalan: confondre (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 讓……困惑, 让……困惑 (ràng ... kùnhuò)

• Czech: zmást
• Danish: forvirre
• Dutch: verwarren (nl), in de war brengen, verbijsteren (nl)
• Esperanto: konfuzi
• Finnish: sekoittaa (fi), saada ymmälleen, hämätä (fi)
• French: rendre perplexe, confondre (fr)
• Georgian: დაბნევა (dabneva)
• German: verwirren (de), konfundieren (de)
• Greek: μπερδεύω (el) (berdévo), σαστίζω (el) (sastízo)

• Hebrew: בלבל‎ m (bilbel)
• Hungarian: összezavar (hu)
• Italian: confondere (it)
• Japanese: 混乱させる (ja) (こんらんさせる, konran saseru)
• Korean: 혼란시키다 (hollansikida)
• Macedonian: буни impf (buni)
• Maori: whakapōraru, whakapōkīkī
• Norwegian: forvirre (no)
• Polish: zmieszać (pl)
• Portuguese: confundir (pt)
• Quechua: arwiy
• Romanian: încurca (ro)
• Russian: пу́тать (ru) impf (pútatʹ), запу́тать (ru) pf (zapútatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuir tro-chèile
• Spanish: confundir (es)
• Swedish: förvirra (sv), förväxla (sv)
• Yiddish: צעמישן‎ (tsemishn)

to mix up / muddle up one thing with another; to mistake one thing for another

• Belarusian: блытаць impf (blytacʹ), пераблытаць pf (pjerablytacʹ)
• Bulgarian: обърквам (bg) (obǎrkvam)
• Catalan: confondre (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 混同 (zh) (hùntóng)

• Czech: splést, zaměnit
• Danish: forveksle
• Dutch: verwisselen (nl), verwarren (nl), in de war brengen, door elkaar halen, dooreenhalen
• Esperanto: konfuzi
• Finnish: sekoittaa (fi), erehtyä (fi)
• French: confondre (fr)
• Georgian: აერევა (aereva)
• German: verwechseln (de)
• Greek: συγχέω (el) (synchéo)

• Hebrew: בלבל‎ m (bilbel)
• Hungarian: összekever (hu), összetéveszt (hu)
• Italian: confondere (it)
• Japanese: 混同する (ja) (kondō-suru)
• Kabuverdianu: baradja
• Latin: confundo
• Norwegian: forveksle

  Bokmål: blande sammen

  Nynorsk: blande saman

• Polish: pomylić (pl)
• Portuguese: confundir (pt)
• Russian: пу́тать (ru) impf (pútatʹ), перепу́тать (ru) pf (perepútatʹ), спу́тать (ru) pf (spútatʹ), обозна́ться (ru) pf (oboznátʹsja)
• Spanish: confundirse (es)
• Swedish: förväxla (sv), blanda ihop (sv)
• Turkish: karıştırmak (tr)
• Ukrainian: плутати impf (plutaty), переплутати pf (pereplutaty)

to mix thoroughly

• Azerbaijani: qarışdırmaq (az)
• Bulgarian: размесвам (bg) (razmesvam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 攪亂 (zh), 搅乱 (zh) (jiǎoluàn)

• Dutch: verwarren (nl), in de war brengen, dooreenhalen
• Finnish: sekoittaa perusteellisesti, sotkea (fi), sekoittaa (fi)
• German: vermischen (de)
• Hungarian: összekever (hu), összekavar (hu)

• Latin: confundō
• Norwegian: blande (no)
• Portuguese: misturar (pt)
• Russian: сме́шивать (ru) (sméšivatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuir tro-chèile
• Spanish: mezclar (es)
• Swedish: blanda (sv)

to embarrass

• Arabic: أَرْبَكَ‎ (ʾarbaka)
• Bulgarian: смущавам (bg) (smuštavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 迷惑 (zh) (míhuo)

• Danish: bringe en i forlegenhed
• Finnish: nolata (fi), saattaa hämilleen, saada hämilleen
• German: jemanden in Verlegenheit (de) f bringen

• Greek: προκαλώ αμηχανία (prokaló amichanía)
• Japanese: 混乱させる (ja) (konran-saseru)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bringe noen i forlegenhet (no) m or f

• Portuguese: envergonhar (pt)
• Russian: смуща́ть (ru) (smuščátʹ)

to rout — see rout

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} confundir (es)

• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} förvirra (sv)

See also

• discombobulate

References

• confuse at OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “confuse” in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.fyz/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

Adjective

confuse

1. feminine singular of confus

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Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /konˈfu.ze/
• Rhymes: -uze
• Hyphenation: con‧fù‧se

Etymology 1

Participle

confuse f pl

1. feminine plural of confuso

Adjective

confuse f pl

1. feminine plural of confuso

Etymology 2

Verb

confuse

1. third-person singular past historic of confondere

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Latin

Participle

cōnfūse

1. vocative masculine singular of cōnfūsus

References

• “confuse”, in Charlton T[homas] Lewis; Charles [Lancaster] Short (1879) […] A New Latin Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.; Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Ill.: American Book Company; Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• “confuse”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• confuse in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• confuse in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette