confuse

/kənˈfjuːz/ (bre, ipa) · /kənˈfjuːz/ (ame, ipa) · /kən-ˈfyüz/ (ame, mw)

confuse — 動詞

  • confusepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • confuseshe / she / it
  • confusedpast simple
  • confusing-ing form

1. to cause someone to feel mentally unclear, so they cannot understand what is hap

1.動詞及物B1
釋義

使困惑

讓人思緒混亂，無法理解

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.

例句

The sudden change in the train schedule confused many passengers waiting on the platform.

火車時刻表的突然變動讓月臺上等候的許多乘客感到困惑。

confuse + direct object (person)

The instructions for assembling the bookshelf were so confusing that Lotte had to ask for help.

組裝書架的說明書令人困惑，Lotte 只好請人幫忙。

confusing as participle adjective

同義詞
  • bewilder

    stronger feeling of being lost or overwhelmed; less common in everyday speech

  • perplex

    more formal; suggests the person is actively trying to figure something out

  • baffle

    suggests complete inability to understand, stronger than confuse

反義詞
  • 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

❌I am confusing about the instructions.
✅I am confused about the instructions.
💡'confusing' describes something that causes confusion, not a person's feeling.

2. to mistakenly believe that one person, thing, or idea is another person, thing,

2.動詞及物B1
釋義

混淆；搞混

錯把不同的人事物當作同一個

to mistakenly believe that one person, thing, or idea is another person, thing, or idea because they look alike, sound alike, or seem similar.

例句

I always confuse the twins because they dress exactly the same way.

我老是搞混那對雙胞胎，因為他們穿得一模一樣。

confuse [noun] — mixing up similar people

Many students confuse the word 'affect' with the word 'effect' when writing essays.

許多學生在寫論文時會把 affect 和 effect 這兩個字搞混。

confuse A with B pattern

同義詞
  • mix up

    more informal, very common in everyday English

  • muddle

    more common in British English; can also mean to jumble physically

反義詞

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.

常見錯誤

❌I always confuse about the twins.
✅I always confuse the twins.' or 'I always confuse one twin with the other.
💡'confuse' is transitive and needs a direct object; 'confuse about' is incorrect.