confuse

To make someone unable to understand something clearly.

• These instructions confuse me.
• His explanation confused the whole class.
• Does the new menu confuse you?

Similar words: puzzle, bewilder

Opposites: clarify

Common phrases: confuse someone, confuse the reader, confuse a child, confuse a student

To think that one person or thing is another.

• I often confuse their names.
• She confused salt with sugar.
• Did you confuse me with someone else?

How to use it: confuse someone/something with someone/something (I always confuse Anna with her sister.)

Similar words: mix up, mistake

Opposites: distinguish

Common phrases: confuse two things, confuse someone with someone

To mix things together or put them into a disorderly state.

• The wind confused the neat piles of papers.
• A sudden retreat confused the soldiers’ ranks.
• Moving the cards confused their original order.

Similar words: disorder, jumble, mix

Opposites: organize

Common phrases: confuse the order, confuse the ranks, confuse the arrangement