1
as in perplexes
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
the similar-sounding words "censure" and "censor" often confuse people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in complicates
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
stop confusing the issue with irrelevant facts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mistakes
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
a lot of people confuse popular fame with enduring achievement
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in embarrasses
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
she was confused by the shocking bluntness of his marriage proposal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in disrupts
to undo the proper order or arrangement of
vandals had hopelessly confused the papers in the office files
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confuses
The Longhorns’ roster build confuses me.
—
The Athletic College Basketball Staff, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
At her spring show, Marie-Adam Leenaerdt brought back the style, but her shiny spandex stocking version ensures no one confuses the look for child’s play.
—Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2025
But the state’s message confuses parents, especially the poor and underserved, Anzalone said.
—Arthur Allen, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
And yet, even though not having children is becoming more widely accepted and understood in our society, there’s something about a woman who has never been married that still confuses and scares people.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2025
But the state's message confuses parents, especially the poor and underserved, Anzalone said.
—Arthur Allen, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2025
But too often, this instinct to chase conflict distorts reality and confuses the public.
—Nancy Gibbs, Time, 17 Oct. 2025
This view confuses structure with behavior.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
Typically caused by a sensitive immune system — which confuses innocuous bacteria for harmful pathogens — symptoms include fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight loss, anemia, skin changes, arthritis and more.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
The Athletic College Basketball Staff, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2025
At her spring show, Marie-Adam Leenaerdt brought back the style, but her shiny spandex stocking version ensures no one confuses the look for child’s play.
—Laia Garcia-Furtado, Vogue, 30 Oct. 2025
But the state’s message confuses parents, especially the poor and underserved, Anzalone said.
—Arthur Allen, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
And yet, even though not having children is becoming more widely accepted and understood in our society, there’s something about a woman who has never been married that still confuses and scares people.
—Jessica Radloff, Glamour, 23 Oct. 2025
But the state's message confuses parents, especially the poor and underserved, Anzalone said.
—Arthur Allen, ABC News, 22 Oct. 2025
But too often, this instinct to chase conflict distorts reality and confuses the public.
—Nancy Gibbs, Time, 17 Oct. 2025
This view confuses structure with behavior.
—Dave Smith, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2025
Typically caused by a sensitive immune system — which confuses innocuous bacteria for harmful pathogens — symptoms include fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, loss of appetite and weight loss, anemia, skin changes, arthritis and more.
—Vanessa Etienne, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confuses
Verb
-
Scheduled for retirement in 2026, the ship’s age complicates the analysis of events.—
Christopher McFadden,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
-
That complicates things for the Blue Jays who could either be riding off into the sunset happy as can be or mad at the world for losing Game 6 and Game 7.—
Drew VonScio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
My father mistakes it for the verb to bray, like a donkey.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
17 Oct. 2025
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The film looks like a million bucks, has a high pedigree of talent, and mistakes constant poking for conversation, endless buzzwords for a buffet of food for thought, incendiary hypotheticals for insight.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
As artificial intelligence disrupts software and traditional tech cycles, many VCs are being forced to rethink their investment theses.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
-
His ability to reset the line of scrimmage with power, find the football and then get hands on the ball carrier consistently disrupts opposing game plans.—
Dane Brugler,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Nandi is experiencing severe insomnia, tremors and psychosis, and her quickly deteriorating condition bewilders the emergency room staff.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
-
The designs were puckish and gender-bending, evoking both awe and repulsion—the sort of clothing that titillates lovers of conceptual fashion and bewilders the uninitiated.—
Ana Karina Zatarain,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The result is a bittersweet dramedy about rejection, resilience and legacy that blurs fiction and reality.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
28 Oct. 2025
-
The answer has become even less clear as the line blurs between Wall Street incumbents like Citi and fintech disruptors like Robinhood.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
27 Oct. 2025
Verb
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But to borrow Manidis’s framework, the drive to create such a tool conflates useless toil with meaningful labor.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Among the crowds, which have on occasion contained tens of thousands, there have been displays of violent antisemitic sentiment, as well as language that conflates enmity toward Israel, Zionism and Jews themselves.—
Alex Holmes,
NBC news,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Another possibility is that there is a relic magnetic field that exists between galaxies which remains from the early universe and disturbs low-energy gamma-rays.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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The water is perfectly clear — until someone brushes the side of the cave or disturbs the soft bottom, sending fine silt particles billowing into the beam of a headlamp.—
Jennifer Walker,
CNN Money,
18 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Take the quiz here … DUGOUT SECRETS – Mysterious wooden canoe found after Hurricane Ian still baffles experts three years later.—
,
FOXNews.com,
8 Oct. 2025
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One case that still baffles is the macabre story of Virginia McCullough, who killed her parents for their money – and then lived with their bodies for four years.—
KC Baker,
People.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confuses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confuses. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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