confused

American  

[kuhn-fyoozd] / kənˈfyuzd /

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.

confused British  

/ kənˈfjuːzd, -ˈfjuːzd-, kənˈfjuːzɪdlɪ /

adjective

1. feeling or exhibiting an inability to understand; bewildered; perplexed

2. in a disordered state; mixed up; jumbled

3. lacking sufficient mental abilities for independent living, esp through old age

---

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

Manager Michael Carrick described the decisions as "baffling", confused that Attwell's decision did not match an earlier spot-kick given to his side for a pull by Alex Jimenez on Matheus Cunha.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

Its unusual internal shell has long confused scientists.

From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026

Richard Brown was so confused by the legal landscape that he fed two weeks’ worth of refund-related court rulings into an AI program and asked it to create a podcast to explain it to him.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

"I'm not angry. I'm just bewildered, confused, unhappy," she said.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

Gingersnipes had been in this very position since she’d arrived in Deadwood: confused and unsure of her own eternal fate.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Related Words

• baffled
• befuddled
• bewildered
• dazed
• disorganized
• distracted
• muddled
• perplexed
• perturbed
• puzzled