confondere

Confondere is an Italian verb meaning to confuse, mix up, or blur distinctions, and it can also convey bewilderment or mislead. It can be used in a literal sense—mixing up objects or people—as well as in a figurative sense, such as confusing ideas, facts, or perceptions. The reflexive form confondersi means to become confused or to mistake oneself for someone else.

Etymology: Confondere derives from Latin confundere, meaning “to pour together, mingle, confound,” from con- “together” and fundere “to pour.”

Usage: The verb takes a direct object, for example confondere una persona, una situazione, or confondere i fatti. It is common in phrases like confondere le idee or confondere la realtà to indicate muddling or distorting one’s understanding. A frequent construction is confondere X con Y, meaning to confuse X with Y. The reflexive confondersi with qualcuno expresses mistaking oneself for that person.

Conjugation: Confondere is a regular -ere verb with the following principal forms. Present: confondo, confondi, confonde, confondiamo, confondete, confondono. Imperfect: confondevo, confondevi, confondeva, confondevamo, confondevate, confondevano. Passato prossimo: ho confuso, hai confuso, ha confuso, abbiamo confuso, avete confuso, hanno confuso. Future: confonderò, confonderai, confonderà, confonderemo, confonderete, confonderanno. Participle: confuso; gerund: confondendo. Subjunctive present: confonda, confondi, confonda, confondiamo, confondiate, confondano.

See also: Confondere is contrasted with expressions that signal clarity versus ambiguity, such as confondere le idee or distinguere tra due cose.