confuse
confuse — verb
1. to cause someone to feel mentally unclear, so they cannot understand what is hap
to cause someone to feel mentally unclear, so they cannot understand what is happening or what they are being told, or to make a topic seem more complicated than it really is.
The sudden change in the train schedule confused many passengers waiting on the platform.
confuse + direct object (person)
The instructions for assembling the bookshelf were so confusing that Lotte had to ask for help.
confusing as participle adjective
Adisa was confused about the difference between the two types of visa applications.
The professor's long explanation about quantum theory only confused the students even more.
- clarify
to make something clear and understandable
文法句型
confuse [noun]
be confused about [noun]
be confused by [noun]
用法筆記
Frequently passive. The adjective confusing describes something that causes confusion, while confused describes a person's mental state.
常見錯誤
2. to mistakenly believe that one person, thing, or idea is another person, thing,
to mistakenly believe that one person, thing, or idea is another person, thing, or idea because they look alike, sound alike, or seem similar.
I always confuse the twins because they dress exactly the same way.
confuse [noun] — mixing up similar people
Many students confuse the word 'affect' with the word 'effect' when writing essays.
confuse A with B pattern
The symptoms of the flu can easily be confused with those of a common cold.
Eleni confused the name of the restaurant and booked a table at the wrong place.
- distinguish
to recognise the difference between two things
- differentiate
to show or recognise what makes things different
文法句型
confuse [noun] with [noun]
confuse [noun] and [noun]
用法筆記
Use the pattern confuse A with B or confuse A and B when naming the two items being mixed up. The passive be confused with is common in medical and technical contexts.