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Is there a word (verb) or short phrase to express the fact that given two things A and B, someone has confused A for B, and B for A. In other words, the person got the two items exactly wrong?

I thought of the words "confuse" and "mistake". But they do not seem to be strong enough as they do not express the idea that exactly the opposite is true or that there are only two objects/items in the domain.

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    mistake A for B? American Heritage Dictionary defines mistake as: to recognize or identify incorrectly. [He mistook her for her sister.]
    – user405662
    Commented Jun 12, 2021 at 6:11
  • "mix up" is probably the most relevant, but sounds more informal.
    – GArthurBrown
    Commented Jun 12, 2021 at 6:35
  • Not sure there is a single word. Related : antonymy substitution error.
    – fev
    Commented Jun 12, 2021 at 9:49
  • Colloquially, 'got them confused/mixed up' are common.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Jun 12, 2021 at 10:56

4 Answers 4

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To confuse, to muddle (up), to mix up or (my preference) mistake (a person or thing) for (some other person or thing)

to suppose erroneously the former to be the latter; to identify wrongly as (OED)

a1616 - W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 83
You haue mistooke (my Lady) Polixenes for Leontes.

1828 - W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth x, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 297
Poor gossip Oliver often mistook friends for enemies.

1945 - J. Agate Diary 10 July in Selective Ego (1976) 216
Yonnel..looks every inch an actor; you couldn't possibly mistake him for anything else.

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I think the most common way I've heard of expressing this is: I had those two "switched." Or "switched around." If you'd like to confirm this at m-w.com, see definition 3b of switch: "to make a shift in or exchange of."

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You can also stick with confuse, which is appropriate for mixing up two things.

confuse (v.)

If you confuse two things, you get them mixed up, so that you think one of them is the other one.

I always confuse my left with my right. Collins

To mix up in the mind, to fail to distinguish, erroneously regard as identical, mistake one for another.

1862 J. Ruskin Munera Pulveris (1880) 29 We in reality confuse wealth with money. (OED)

According the twins' father, “I think maybe there's one teacher who knows the difference of who's who. I think many times they confuse the two of them, like when there's a discipline, who they told has an assignment or whatever ..." Deborah Waber; Rethinking Learning Disabilities (2010)

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A good single word for this is "conflate." The primary definition of conflate is to fail to differentiate something from another thing that is similar.

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    Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please edit to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.
    – Community Bot
    Commented Jan 28, 2022 at 1:18
  • "Conflate" more gives the idea that you're mistaking two distinct things for the same thing, not one thing for another and vice versa
    – No Name
    Commented Aug 29 at 15:48

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