confuse
/kən'fju:z/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Verb:
- To make something unclear, indistinct, or blurred: To cause a situation, idea, or statement to become less clear or harder to understand.
- To mix up or assemble without order or sense: To put things together in a disordered, illogical, or jumbled way.
- To cause someone to feel embarrassment or disconcertion: To make someone feel flustered, self-conscious, or disoriented, often due to unexpected attention or a complex situation.
- To be confusing or perplexing to someone; to cause mental inability to think clearly: To be the source of bewilderment or mental muddle for a person.
- To mistake one thing for another: To fail to correctly distinguish between two or more people or things; to mix up identities or details.
Examples of Usage
- Verb:
- The complex instructions only served to confuse the participants further.
- Don't confuse the files; keep them in separate, labeled folders.
- She was confused by the sudden applause and didn't know how to respond.
- Advanced philosophical concepts can confuse undergraduate students.
- People often confuse the twins because they look so similar.
Advanced Usage
"to confuse the issue": to introduce information or arguments that make a topic harder to understand or resolve.
- Bringing up old grievances will only confuse the issue we need to solve today.
"to confuse matters": similar to "confuse the issue," meaning to complicate a situation.
- His contradictory statement confused matters for the investigation team.
Variants and Related Words
Confused (adj): Describing a state of being bewildered, mixed up, or lacking clarity.
- The tourist looked confused while trying to read the map.
Confusing (adj): Causing confusion; difficult to understand.
- The signpost was confusing and pointed in two directions.
Confusion (n): The state of being confused; a situation of disorder or uncertainty.
- The announcement caused widespread confusion among the staff.
Synonyms
- Bewilder: To perplex or confuse deeply.
- Fluster: To make someone nervous or confused.
- Jumble: To mix things in a confused or disordered manner.
- Muddle: To bring into a state of confusion or disorder.
- Perplex: To cause to be puzzled or bewildered.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases
- Confuse with: To mistake one person or thing for another.
- I'm sorry, I confused you with your sister.
Related Idioms
Add to the confusion: To make a confusing situation even worse.
- The manager's vague email only added to the confusion about the new policy.
A recipe for confusion: A situation or plan that is very likely to cause confusion.
- Changing the rules at the last minute is a recipe for confusion.
Verb
- make unclear, indistinct, or blurred
- Her remarks confused the debate
- Their words obnubilate their intentions
- assemble without order or sense
- She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence
- cause to feel embarrassment
- The constant attention of the young man confused her
- be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly
- These questions confuse even the experts
- This question completely threw me
- This question befuddled even the teacher
- mistake one thing for another
- you are confusing me with the other candidate
- I mistook her for the secretary