confuse vs puzzle out

confuse

verb
  • to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand 

  • To mix up, muddle up (one thing with another); to mistake (one thing for another). 

  • To mix thoroughly; to confound; to disorder. 

  • To be confused. 

puzzle out

verb
  • To figure out; to discover or find a solution to. 

How often have the words confuse and puzzle out occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )