verb
- Mistake one thing for another.
- usage: "you are confusing me with the other candidate"; "I mistook her for the secretary"
- Be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly.
- usage: "These questions confuse even the experts"; "This question completely threw me"; "This question befuddled even the teacher"
- Cause to feel embarrassment.
- usage: "The constant attention of the young man confused her"
- synonyms: confuse, flurry, disconcert, put off
- Assemble without order or sense.
- usage: "She jumbles the words when she is supposed to write a sentence"
- Make unclear, indistinct, or blurred.
- usage: "Her remarks confused the debate"; "Their words obnubilate their intentions"
- synonyms: confuse, blur, obscure, obnubilate
adjective
- Causing confusion or disorientation.
- usage: "a confusing jumble of road signs"; "being hospitalized can be confusing and distressing for a small child"
- Lacking clarity of meaning; causing confusion or perplexity.
- usage: "sent confusing signals to Iraq"; "perplexing to someone who knew nothing about it"; "a puzzling statement"
- synonyms: perplexing, puzzling
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). confusing. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/confusing/definitions/1171218 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "confusing" http://smartdefine.org/confusing/definitions/1171218 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, confusing, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/confusing/definitions/1171218>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "confusing" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/confusing/definitions/1171218> |