confused
Americanadjective
-
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
adjective
-
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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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
Explanation
If you are confused about something, you can't think clearly. If your new friend keeps impossibly showing up in different outfits, you'll be confused until you discover she has an identical twin. Confuse is a modern verb, the old form being confound which means "to bring to ruin or disorder." When you are confused, what's ruined is your sense of the order of things. If you return to a city where you used to live, and a dog grooming store has replaced your apartment and a dump has replaced the park, you'll feel emotionally confused. If you think that Tom is Harry and Harry is Tom, you've confused them in your mind.
Vocabulary lists containing confused
In the Mood? 100 Words to Describe Emotions
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Hooked on a Feeling, List 1
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"Earthquake"
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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.
While before he was “a real sharp tack” and “a walking calculator,” now he is anxious and confused, his daughter said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 14, 2026
While getting our heads around the many kick-off times, football fans are grappling with rule changes that are, in some instances, leaving players, coaches, supporters and TV viewers a little bit confused.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
Fans tuning in for the first 2026 World Cup game on US soil Friday night might be a bit confused: why had they never heard of Los Angeles Stadium before?
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
Our own era is one of disembodied images, of videos maybe not even made by humans, floating around on a confused profusion of platforms.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
“What do I think about what?” he asked, more than a little confused.
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
