What's the difference between confuse and misunderstand?

Confuse


Definition:

  • (a.) Mixed; confounded.
  • (v. t.) To mix or blend so that things can not be distinguished; to jumble together; to confound; to render indistinct or obscure; as, to confuse accounts; to confuse one's vision.
  • (v. t.) To perplex; to disconcert; to abash; to cause to lose self-possession.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Until the 1960's there was great confusion, both within and between countries, on the meaning of diagnostic terms such as emphysema, asthma, and chronic brochitis.
  • (2) Even today, our experience of the zoo is so often interrupted by disappointment and confusion.
  • (3) Cloacal exstrophy, centered on the maldevelopment of the primitive streak mesoderm and cloacal membrane, results in bladder and intestinal exstrophy, omphalocele, gender confusion, and hindgut deformity.
  • (4) He has also been a vocal opponent of gay marriage, appearing on the Today programme in the run-up to the same-sex marriage bill to warn that it would "cause confusion" – and asking in a Spectator column, after it was passed, "if the law will eventually be changed to allow one to marry one's dog".
  • (5) A group called Campaign for Houston , which led the opposition, described the ordinance as “an attack on the traditional family” designed for “gender-confused men who … can call themselves ‘women’ on a whim”.
  • (6) The intracellular localization of tachyzoites facilitated diagnosis by obviating potential confusion of extracellular tachyzoites with cellular debris or platelets.
  • (7) But mention the words "eurozone crisis" to other Finns, and you could be rewarded with little more than a confused, albeit friendly, smile.
  • (8) "I am in a bad situation, psychologically so bad and confused," one father said, surrounded by his three other young sons.
  • (9) The differentiation between the various modes of involvement is essential as some of them may be confused with recurrence and the clinician might resort to unnecessary drastic measures like enucleation.
  • (10) Many characteristics of the Chinese history and society are responsible for this controversy and confusion.
  • (11) Two normal variants that could be confused with abnormalities were noted: (a) the featureless appearance of the duodenal bulb may be mistaken for extravasation, and (b) contrastmaterial filling of the proximal jejunal loop at an end-to-end anastomosis with retained invaginated pancreas may be mistaken for intussusception.
  • (12) Bilateral temporal epilepsies involving the limbic system on the one hand, bilateral frontal epilepsies on the other one, and P.M. status which may be paralleled, make these patients more susceptible to acute mental confusions, to acute thymic disorders, to delirious attacks.
  • (13) At present the use of the four terms to describe the common types of diabetes leads to confusion, which could readily be resolved by arriving at agreed definitions for each of these terms.
  • (14) The interplay of policies and principles to which Miss Nightingale subscribed, the human frailty of one of her women, Miss Nightingale's illness, and the confusion and stress which characterized the Crimean War are discussed.
  • (15) The features of benzodiazepine withdrawal in the elderly may differ from those seen in young patients; withdrawal symptoms include confusion and disorientation which often does not precipitate milder reactions such as anxiety, insomnia and perceptual changes.
  • (16) The government's civil partnership bill to sanction same-sex unions was thrown into confusion last night after a cross-party coalition of peers and bishops voted to extend the bill's benefits to a wide range of people who live together in a caring family relationship.
  • (17) In the ECMO patient, cardiac stun syndrome and electromechanical dissociation can be confused with low circuit volume, pneumothorax, or cardiac tamponade.
  • (18) Simple reperfusion of the infarcted myocardium, however, does not necessarily guarantee myocardial salvage, and preliminary studies have been somewhat confusing as to its beneficial effects.
  • (19) Scaf criticised the Muslim Brotherhood for its premature announcement of the results and stated it was "one of the main causes of division and confusion prevailing the political arena".
  • (20) I think it would have been appropriate and right and respectful of people’s feelings to have done so.” There was also confusion over Labour policy sparked by conflicting comments made by Corbyn and his new shadow work and pensions secretary, Owen Smith.

Misunderstand


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To misconceive; to mistake; to miscomprehend; to take in a wrong sense.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Despite of the increasing diagnostic importance of the direct determination of the parathormone which is at first available only in special institutions in these cases methodical problems play a less important part than the still not infrequent appearing misunderstanding of the adequate basic disease.
  • (2) Illustration by Andrzej Krause Photograph: Guardian The Foreign Office attributed the forgotten boxes to "an earlier misunderstanding about contents" and stated that there needed to be an "improvement in archive management".
  • (3) Much criticism, though, is based on genuine misunderstanding or a wild misrepresentation of reality – even in the pages of prestigious newspapers.
  • (4) The Florida senator said: “This simplistic notion that ‘leave Assad there because he’s a brutal killer, but he’s not as bad as what’s going to follow him’ is a fundamental and simplistic and dangerous misunderstanding of the reality of the region.” It’s unclear though how much the actual debate about policy between the two senators stood out from the political carnival surrounding them.
  • (5) In this way, they will be better able to avoid misunderstandings and head off potential conflicts.
  • (6) Following references to the development of the discipline and of the possible misunderstandings involved in an interpretation of the term "integration", the author makes reference to the dialogue-like structure of integration.
  • (7) "Cameron's interpretation of Merkel's stance is partially based on a misunderstanding," said Stefan Kornelius, foreign editor of Süddeutsche Zeitung and author of an authorised Merkel biography.
  • (8) And she thought these treatments would cure her – a common misunderstanding of how addiction works.
  • (9) This will mean that if you are sacked because your boss takes against you or because of a misunderstanding, you will be on your own unless you can afford to pay for a lawyer or you are a member of a trade union.
  • (10) So we started asking them ridiculous questions about being single," says Lucas, "and the sheer number of misunderstandings about each other's lives felt like comedic material."
  • (11) Various kinds of false reports are defined, described, and grouped according to type: misunderstandings, misreporting, distortion through illness, distortion by design, professional error, misrepresentation, and a grouping of less common instances.
  • (12) A series of misadventures and misunderstandings lead him to Calgary, where the whole Messiah mix-up reaches its painful, and tuneful, climax.
  • (13) The risks involved in the misunderstanding of such an association are not without danger for the patient, particularly the risk of severe complication of possible coronary or carotid lesions, threatening survival; from this derives the necessity to decide automatically for a minimum of pre-surgery vascular investigations in the case of patients suffering from lung cancer.
  • (14) Following a thorough medical workup, the physician can best discharge his or her responsibility to the patient by paying attention to these possible misunderstandings.
  • (15) For London's mayor had not only long refused to meet the RMT leader, but only a month before rather encouraged the public to misunderstand him by making hay with Crow's supposedly hypocritical cruise trip and accusing him of "holding a gun" to the head of the capital ?
  • (16) Consequently, a misunderstanding of roles and distortion in perception, for whatever reason, may influence the outcome of care.
  • (17) One successful method to overcome these misunderstandings is education.
  • (18) I cannot risk a whole game, I am a long-term coach.” Puzzled glances around the room alerted the manager to the possibility of a misunderstanding.
  • (19) 176, 137--142] have no real meaning because of a serious methodological misunderstanding by the authors.
  • (20) But there is that fear that there could be that one moment of misunderstanding with a young man of colour and that young man may never come back.” De Blasio’s comments were delivered against a backdrop of continued protests in many cities against recent incidents of police brutality and charges of a lack of accountability for police officers who have killed civilians.