Magoosh GRE Vocabulary Practice Test

The verb meant to confuse or perplex is confound. Confound captures the sense of leaving someone puzzled or unclear, or mixing up what’s understood. The other options are about making something clearer or showing or proving how something works, which are the opposite of causing confusion. Clarify means to remove confusion, demonstrate means to show how something works, and explain means to give reasons or details to make something understood. So confound is the best fit for the meaning of confuse or perplex.