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 (Southern England)

  (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 (ʔarbaka), 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)
• Old English: dwilman
• 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)
• Icelandic: víxla
• Italian: confondere (it)
• Japanese: 混同する (ja) (kondō-suru)
• Kabuverdianu: baradja
• Latin: confundo
• Norwegian: forveksle

  Bokmål: blande sammen

  Nynorsk: blande saman

• Old English: mengan
• 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／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)
• Old English: mengan, formengan
• Portuguese: misturar (pt)
• Russian: сме́шивать (ru) (sméšivatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: cuir tro-chèile
• Spanish: mezclar (es)
• Swedish: blanda (sv)

to embarrass

• Arabic: أَرْبَكَ (ʔarbaka)
• 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

• Old English: sceamian, scendan
• 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. 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”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “confuse”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.fyz/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

Adjective

confuse

1. feminine singular of confus

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

Latin

Participle

cōnfūse

1. vocative masculine singular of cōnfūsus

References

• “confuse”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, 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.