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v. con·fused, con·fus·ing, con·fus·es v.tr. 1. a. To cause to be unable to think with clarity or act with intelligence or understanding; bewilder or perplex. b. Archaic To cause to feel embarrassment. 2. a. To fail to differentiate (one person or thing) from another: confused effusiveness with affection. b. To make more complex or difficult to understand: "The old labels ... confuse debate instead of clarifying it" (Christopher Lasch). v.intr. To make something unclear or incomprehensible: a new tax code that only confuses. [Middle English confusen, from Old French confus, perplexed, from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundere, to mix together; see CONFOUND.] con·fusa·ble adj. con·fusing·ly adv. |
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