Candid clues occasionally confuse (5)
I believe the answer is:
addle
'confuse' is the definition.
(addling is a kind of confusing)
'candid clues occasionally' is the wordplay.
'occasionally' means one should take alternating letters.
'candid'+'clues'='candidclues'
The alternating letters of 'candidclues' are 'ADDLE'.
(Other definitions for addle that I've seen before include "Befuddle" , "Get confused" , "Confuse; become rotten" , "(Of egg) become rotten" , "Confuse; go off" .)