confused
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.
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.
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.
disconcerted, perturbed, or ashamed: I emerged from the office red-faced and confused.
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.
the simple past tense and past participle of confuse.
Origin of confused
1Other words from confused
- con·fus·ed·ly [kuhn-fyoo-zid-lee, -fyoozd-], /kənˈfyu zɪd li, -ˈfyuzd-/, adverb
- con·fus·ed·ness, noun
- pre·con·fus·ed·ly, adverb
- su·per·con·fused, adjective
- un·con·fused, adjective
- un·con·fus·ed·ly, adverb
Words Nearby confused
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use confused in a sentence
Unfortunately, the most confused Ebola alarmists had millions of followers: Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter.
I think he sometimes got it confused, particularly in his storytelling.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days | David Freeman | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHe said his son was confused why he was being pulled over—other cars had been speeding by him—before hanging up the phone.
Sharpton Recalls Civil Rights Struggle in DC March Against Police Violence | Ben Jacobs | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTIt began when a classmate raised her hand and stated that she was confused about the facts of the case.
Dear White People: Well-Meaning Paternalism Is Still Racist | Chloé Valdary | December 9, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST“I fall very much on the pessimistic spectrum, in the sense that I get very confused about it,” she says.
Confessions of a Rom-Com Writer: Liz Tuccillo Talks ‘Sex and the City,’ ‘Take Care,’ and More | Kevin Fallon | December 5, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
The crowd shuffled off in all directions, and then engaged in a confused struggle for the chairs.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylResults are in terms of bulk of precipitate, which must not be confused with percentage by weight.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddShe now understood nearly all that was said directly to her, though she could not follow general and confused conversation.
Ramona | Helen Hunt JacksonHe gave me some instructions, but I was too confused to understand them, and too shy to ask questions.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowIrregular spurts of musketry heralded the appearance of confused masses of armed men.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
British Dictionary definitions for confused
/ (kənˈfjuːzd) /
feeling or exhibiting an inability to understand; bewildered; perplexed
in a disordered state; mixed up; jumbled
lacking sufficient mental abilities for independent living, esp through old age
Derived forms of confused
- confusedly (kənˈfjuːzɪdlɪ, -ˈfjuːzd-), adverb
- confusedness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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