confused

[kuhn-fyoozd]

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.

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of confused¹

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

For now, construction continues, often leaving travelers confused or lost when trying to find their correct gate or the way to a taxi or rideshare vehicle.

From Los Angeles Times

This approach should not be confused with toxic positivity, which is when people only look for the positive while negating any negative emotions.

From Salon

KION-TV’s news anchors, producers and other employees said they were confused and blindsided by the decision to immediately lay off the more than a dozen employees involved in news operations.

From Los Angeles Times

And according to internal documents attained by The Times, debris crews were regularly confused how to handle contaminated pool water — which researchers have found to contain trace amounts of lead, arsenic and other toxic chemicals.

From Los Angeles Times

"We were all looking at each other a bit astonished, a bit confused," Giulia says.

From BBC

Related Words

• baffled 
• befuddled 
• bewildered 
• dazed 
• disorganized 
• distracted 
• muddled 
• perplexed 
• perturbed 
• puzzled www.thesaurus.com