1
as in difficult
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
2
as in perplexing
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
1
as in baffling
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
the similar-sounding words "censure" and "censor" often confuse people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in complicating
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
stop confusing the issue with irrelevant facts
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in mistaking
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 embarrassing
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 disrupting
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 confusing
R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
But trying to gather bank statements, review tax transcripts and fill out forms can be time-consuming, confusing and stressful.
—John Csiszar, CNBC, 22 May 2026
The government’s guidance on the hantavirus outbreak has been confusing, leaving some travelers—particularly passengers who went home rather than to the University of Nebraska Medical Center quarantine unit—without clear monitoring instructions.
—Stephanie Psaki, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026
The whole thing is very confusing in a very Bob Dylan way, but also kind of incredible.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
Anyone who has dealt with a billing issue, a broken website form or a confusing insurance claim already knows that.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2026
Still, if men have never dabbled into the makeup world before, knowing where to start can be quite overwhelming—not to mention confusing.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 22 May 2026
Stephen Colbert leaves late night as the king of the ratings, which made his cancellation even more confusing to industry observers.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
There need not be any rental cars, two-hour rideshares or awkward, confusing gameday shuttles.
—Elias Burke, New York Times, 21 May 2026
Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
Huxley’s critique is clear; America mistakes body for spirit, promiscuously confusing the physical with the metaphysical.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Those practices included predatory mortgage lending, junk fees, confusing jargon on financial product descriptions, payday loans, and much more.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Showing a simplified workflow of chain of thought would avoid confusing the average user who just wants a pretty UI and doesn’t care that it was generated on the spot.
—ArsTechnica, 20 May 2026
But that interpretation risks confusing resilience with delay.
—Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Pre, pro and postbiotics explained All the gut-health terminology surrounding ARIH can get confusing quickly.
—Ryan Brennan
may 18, Charlotte Observer, 18 May 2026
Concerns over parking fees, confusing technology Several speakers pointed to high parking fees, strict enforcement, and confusing technology as major concerns.
—Caroline Foreback, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Beware of confusing north privetwith its invasive cousin, Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense).
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 17 May 2026
Adjective
Grief is complex and, often, confusing.
—R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2026
But trying to gather bank statements, review tax transcripts and fill out forms can be time-consuming, confusing and stressful.
—John Csiszar, CNBC, 22 May 2026
The government’s guidance on the hantavirus outbreak has been confusing, leaving some travelers—particularly passengers who went home rather than to the University of Nebraska Medical Center quarantine unit—without clear monitoring instructions.
—Stephanie Psaki, The Atlantic, 22 May 2026
The whole thing is very confusing in a very Bob Dylan way, but also kind of incredible.
—Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2026
Anyone who has dealt with a billing issue, a broken website form or a confusing insurance claim already knows that.
—Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 22 May 2026
Still, if men have never dabbled into the makeup world before, knowing where to start can be quite overwhelming—not to mention confusing.
—Christian Allaire, Vogue, 22 May 2026
Stephen Colbert leaves late night as the king of the ratings, which made his cancellation even more confusing to industry observers.
—Toni Fitzgerald, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026
There need not be any rental cars, two-hour rideshares or awkward, confusing gameday shuttles.
—Elias Burke, New York Times, 21 May 2026
Verb
Schoen’s contract extension is confusing at best.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 22 May 2026
Huxley’s critique is clear; America mistakes body for spirit, promiscuously confusing the physical with the metaphysical.
—Literary Hub, 21 May 2026
Those practices included predatory mortgage lending, junk fees, confusing jargon on financial product descriptions, payday loans, and much more.
—Andrea Riquier, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Showing a simplified workflow of chain of thought would avoid confusing the average user who just wants a pretty UI and doesn’t care that it was generated on the spot.
—ArsTechnica, 20 May 2026
But that interpretation risks confusing resilience with delay.
—Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
Pre, pro and postbiotics explained All the gut-health terminology surrounding ARIH can get confusing quickly.
—Ryan Brennan
may 18, Charlotte Observer, 18 May 2026
Concerns over parking fees, confusing technology Several speakers pointed to high parking fees, strict enforcement, and confusing technology as major concerns.
—Caroline Foreback, CBS News, 18 May 2026
Beware of confusing north privetwith its invasive cousin, Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense).
—Patricia Shannon, Southern Living, 17 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confusing
Adjective
-
When Thomson went through a difficult divorce, in 2014, Djena would often check in on her, showing up at her door with food.—
Yudhijit Bhattacharjee,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Crow-Armstrong had just failed to make a highly difficult, leaping catch at the wall.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Adjective
-
The right-hander has struggled to maintain his velocity this season, a perplexing trend largely stemming from an inconsistency in his mechanics.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
-
At the same time, the moon in Pisces makes social dynamics and exchanges more hazy and perplexing, especially with Mercury approaching a semi-square with Neptune in Aries, which will become exact tomorrow morning.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
The slow starts are baffling to Becht.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
-
As the castle’s internal order collapses under the weight of a string of baffling crimes, Araki strikes a fragile alliance with Kuroda Kanbei – a razor-minded captive languishing in his own dungeon – in a race to root out a traitor before Oda’s army closes in.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The response unfolds in a region long threatened by armed groups that have kept a large part of the population on the run and control a major city where Ebola cases have been confirmed, complicating health workers’ catch-up efforts to trace the outbreak.—
Justin Kabumba,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2026
-
There is a complicating factor.—
Adam Kovac,
Scientific American,
20 May 2026
Verb
-
And mistaking one for the other is another legacy of how the Cold War foreshortened the humanistic possibilities of the intellectual revolution of the past eighty years—a revolution that has, miraculously, allowed people to communicate with machines using human languages.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
Their father, Nahuel (Amién), flits from one romantic affair to another, failing to recognize his shortcomings the way fathers typically forget minor yet significant details, like mistaking his younger daughter’s shoe size or never delivering on his promise to have the sink fixed.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Lutnick's voluntary closed-door interview comes amid a monthslong procession of powerful people summoned before the committee, many of whom have been subjected to embarrassing revelations in the more than 3 million pages of records known as the Epstein files.—
Graham Kates,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
-
The Game 4 defeat – the no-silver-lining, embarrassing 6-1 loss – left a particularly rancid taste in everyone’s mouth.—
Steve Conroy,
Boston Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The United States on June 25 launched a new satellite expected to significantly improve forecasts of solar flares and coronal mass ejections — huge plasma bubbles that can crash into Earth, disrupting power grids and communications.—
David Trainer,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2026
-
Warming temperatures and shifts in sea ice in the Arctic are disrupting the food web gray whales rely on during summer feeding months, according to a 2023 study in Science, leaving many malnourished during migration.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 May 2026
Adjective
-
The Italian town is not the first area to struggle with troublesome peacocks or other birds.—
Amarachi Orie,
CNN Money,
14 May 2026
-
One of the best ways to deter these troublesome insects is to lure them away from your zucchini crops by planting Hubbard squash nearby as a trap crop.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Confusing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confusing. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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