confused

[kuhn-fyoozd]

adjective

1. not thinking coherently or rationally; bewildered; perplexed.

   My attempt to explain was met with confused stares and shrugging shoulders.

   Hopelessly confused, I just tossed my trash into what I thought was the right receptacle.

2. incorrectly differentiated, identified, or associated.

   You’re getting him confused with another player with the same name—this one plays for the Twins.

   In this lesson, students learn the frequently confused words their, they’re, and there.

3. without order; jumbled.

   Over time, the original neat lines of tents grew into a confused tangle of canvas-roofed shelters.

   What was once an imposing fortress is now just a confused heap of erect and fallen stones.

4. disconcerted, perturbed, or ashamed.

   I emerged from the office red-faced and confused.

5. expressed in a way that is not easily understood.

   The novel plods along trying to provide hopelessly confused technical detail, much of which is blatantly impossible according to the elementary laws of physics.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of confuse.

Other Word Forms

• confusedly adverb
• confusedness noun
• preconfusedly adverb
• superconfused adjective
• unconfused adjective
• unconfusedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of confused¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; confuse ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; confuse ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

Soap stars are particularly prone to being confused with their on-screen characters, with viewers used to seeing their TV personas several times a week.

From BBC

He turned up six miles away at a Denny’s, badly confused.

From Los Angeles Times

The former justice secretary Lord Charlie Falconer, who is the sponsor of the Bill in the Lords, branded the current legal situation "confused", causing "terrible suffering" and lacking "compassion and safeguards".

From BBC

“What does this have to do with Jewish people? I’m confused,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times

"We are confused. People are asking us to come back."

From BBC

Related Words

• baffled 
• befuddled 
• bewildered 
• dazed 
• disorganized 
• distracted 
• muddled 
• perplexed 
• perturbed 
• puzzled www.thesaurus.com