throw

Compared meaning: to throw something (verb).

比较义项：投掷（动词）。

• toss

  Toss suggests a light, gentle, often one-handed throw with little force, typically over a short distance; more casual than throw but without chuck's carelessness.

  toss 表示轻轻地、随意地抛出，用力较小，通常是短距离的单手动作；比 throw 更随意，但不像 chuck 那样带有草率丢弃的意味。

  He gently tossed the pillow to his sister on the other bed.

  他轻轻地把枕头抛给了另一张床上的妹妹。

• throw 本词

  Throw is the general, neutral verb for propelling something through the air with the hand or arm, with no special implication of lightness, force, or carelessness.

  throw 是最中性、最通用的说法，表示用手或手臂把东西抛向空中，没有 toss 的轻巧、chuck 的随意或 cast 的正式含义。

  The pitcher can throw the ball more than ninety miles an hour.

  投手投球的速度能超过每小时九十英里。

• cast

  Cast is formal or literary and today mainly survives in fixed expressions such as casting a fishing line, a net, or dice, rather than everyday throwing.

  cast 语气正式或带文学色彩，如今主要保留在“撒网”“抛骰子”“抛出鱼线”等固定搭配中，不用于日常随意的扔东西。

  The fisherman cast his line far out into the quiet river.

  渔夫把鱼线远远地抛进了平静的河里。

• chuck

  Chuck is very informal and often implies throwing something carelessly, impatiently, or to get rid of it, sometimes with a mildly negative or dismissive tone.

  chuck 非常口语化，常带有随意、不耐烦地扔掉或想要处理掉某物的意味，语气有时略带轻蔑或不在意。

  Just chuck those old newspapers in the recycling bin, please.

  把那些旧报纸随手扔进回收箱就行了。

Toss, throw, cast, and chuck all mean to throw something. Toss is a light, casual throw. Chuck means throwing carelessly, almost discarding. Cast is formal, as in casting a net. Throw is the most general word. This does not cover cast meaning to choose actors.

这几个词在这个意义上都表示“扔、抛、掷”这个动作，但在力度、随意程度和正式程度上有明显区别：toss 强调轻抛随意，chuck 强调草率地扔掉甚至带有丢弃的意味，cast 多见于“撒网、掷骰子”等固定搭配，语气正式或带文学色彩，throw 则是最通用中性的说法。这里不比较 cast 的“选派角色、试镜”这一义项。

Compared meaning: to make someone puzzled or unsure (verb).

比较义项：使困惑，使不知所措（动词）。

• throw 本词

  Informal, mostly spoken; typically 'throw someone', meaning to catch someone off guard or briefly confuse them, often with a tricky or unexpected question or situation.

  非正式，多用于口语；常用“throw someone”结构，指让人一时措手不及或短暂困惑，通常是因为一个刁钻或意外的问题或情况。

  The interviewer's sudden question threw him completely off guard.

  面试官突然提出的问题让他一下子措手不及。

• confuse

  Neutral, general-purpose word for making someone unable to think clearly, understand, or tell things apart; used in everyday, academic, and technical contexts, often with 'with'.

  中性、通用词，指让人无法清晰思考、理解或分辨事物；可用于日常、学术和专业语境，常与介词 with 连用（把……和……混淆）。

  Switching between two apps with similar icons can easily confuse users.

  在两个图标相似的应用之间切换，很容易让用户感到困惑。

• confound

  Formal or literary; implies being confused and often surprised, usually because something defies expectation or explanation; frequently used in the passive, 'be confounded by'.

  较为正式或书面化；暗示既困惑又常常感到意外，通常是因为某事出乎预料或难以解释；常用于被动语态“be confounded by”。

  The strange results confounded doctors, who could not explain the sudden recovery.

  这些奇怪的结果让医生们大惑不解，他们无法解释病人突然康复的原因。

All three mean to make someone puzzled. Throw is informal, meaning to catch someone off guard, often with a tricky question. Confuse is the neutral, general word for this. Confound is formal, implying confusion plus surprise. Not compared: throw meaning toss things; confound meaning defeat.

这三个词在“使人困惑”这一义项上意思相近，但语气和使用场合不同：throw 多用于口语，指某事让人一时摸不着头脑；confuse 是最普通、中性的说法；confound 语气更正式、书面，常带有“出乎意料、难以解释”的意味。这里不比较 throw 的“投掷”义，也不比较 confound 的“挫败”义。