Synonyms

confused

American

[kuhn-fyoozd] / kənˈfyuzd /

adjective

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.

verb

the simple past tense and past participle of confuse.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of confused

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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"We have come here with broken hearts and confused minds, with so many questions. Why death in the bloom of youth, and why like this?" said the priest.

From Barron's

Once, confused from a long chat discussing multiple moves, it set a high weight for the wrong exercise.

From The Wall Street Journal

It's also about the players he has confused and bewildered with his ill-fitting shape and the ideology he refuses to alter no matter how befuddled things become.

From BBC

Patients weren’t confused about their body image or their desire to be thin.

From The Wall Street Journal

"It's totally normal my players need a bit of time and are confused at certain moments," he explained.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023