Confuse
Confuse verb - To throw into a state of mental uncertainty.
Usage example: the similar-sounding words “censure” and “censor” often confuse people
Upset is a synonym for confuse in worry topic. In some cases you can use "Upset" instead the word "Confuse" as a verb or a noun, when it comes to topics like perturb, disconcert, bewilder someone.
Upset
Upset verb - To trouble the mind of; to make uneasy.
Usage example: the smallest things can upset us if we're already stressed
Confuse is a synonym for upset in worry topic. You can use "Confuse" instead a verb "Upset", if it concerns topics such as perturb, displace, disrupt.
Nearby Word: upsetting
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
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Guinevere eventually falls in love and gets engaged to Arthur, only for Morgana to send a Brainwashed Lancelot to the celebrations in order to confuse and upset Guinevere.
Source: Your Cheating Heart - As with Pokemon and Kirby, Fans of F-Zero tend to get very upset when people confuse the anime with the games.
- In Homestuck, Tavros attempts to troll Dave by rapping at him, but his raps keep becoming unintentionally homoerotic, which starts to confuse him and opens him up to some spectacular counter-trolling from Dave, who hits on Tavros insultingly until he gets upset and blocks him.
Source: Queer People Are Funny
Cite this Source
Upset and Confuse. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 21, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/confuse/upset
Confuse & Upset. N.p., 2016. Web. 21 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/confuse/upset>.
Upset or Confuse. 2016. Accessed July 21, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/confuse/upset.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "confuse" and "upset" have occurred on timeline