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
- 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.
Pangan, 28, who lives in Torrance, felt confused that her friend who lives in Orange County was able to get desirable cheap tickets for swimming, track and tennis.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
Its unusual internal shell has long confused scientists.
From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026
"I'm not angry. I'm just bewildered, confused, unhappy," she said.
From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026
Officers there were at first confused, then alarmed by the amount she had transferred.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
Beowulf said, confused, for the shape was fairly stout, although, to be fair, not nearly as stout as a steam engine would be, and of course there were no train tracks running along the path.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
