mix up
Third Person
mixes up
Present Participle
mixing up
Past Tense
mixed up
Past Participle
mixed up
1
to unintentionally change the arrangement or order of a group of things, often leading to confusion or errors
transitive
- She often mixes up the order of the steps when following a recipe.
- When organizing files, be careful not to mix the documents up; keep them in the correct order.
- Please don't mix the papers up; we need them organized by date.
- While tidying up the office, I accidentally mixed up the files, causing some confusion among the team.
- I accidentally mixed up the test tubes, and now the experiment is compromised.
2
to cause someone to become confused
transitive
- The unexpected change in plans really mixed me up; I wasn't sure what to do next.
- The sudden alteration of the meeting agenda mixed up the participants, causing a moment of confusion.
- The tricky riddle really mixed up the kids; they couldn't figure it out.
- The complex instructions in the manual mixed up the users, leaving them unsure about the setup process.
- The unclear explanation mixed up the audience; they couldn't grasp the concept.
Synonyms:
3
to fail to recognize a person or thing properly by assuming that they are another person or thing
transitive
- They look so alike that it's easy to mix them up.
- Please forgive me if I mix you up with your twin sister; you both look so alike.
- I tend to mix up colleagues who started working around the same time.
- In dim lighting, it's common to mix up items that look similar at a glance.
- I apologize for mixing you up with someone else; I didn't recognize you at first glance.
4
to prepare something by combining different ingredients to create a mixture
transitive
- In a blender, you can mix up fruits and yogurt to create a delicious smoothie.
- To make pancakes, you have to mix up the batter by combining flour, milk, and eggs.
- For a flavorful marinade, mix up olive oil, herbs, and a touch of citrus for your grilled chicken.
- As a barista, part of the job is to mix up various coffee blends to create diverse beverages.
- She loves to mix up spices and herbs to create her own unique seasoning blends.