confusing

[kuhn-fyoo-zing]

adjective

1. causing or tending to cause confusion.

   a confusing attempt at explanation.

Other Word Forms

• confusingly adverb
• confusingness noun
• unconfusing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of confusing¹

First recorded in 1840–50; confuse + -ing ²

Example Sentences

However, it “can be very confusing to actually execute, so it takes a committed and savvy investor to make it work.”

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After being enraged by their disallowed goal at Manchester City before the international break, Liverpool got stung again by the confusing subjective offside law.

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Her story resonated with women who came of age in the 1950s, when traditional wives were the norm, then found themselves a decade later in a confusing new era of debate over gender roles.

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“Today’s somewhat confusing data reinforced our sense that it’s too early to turn optimistic about the near-term outlook for the eurozone economy,” Ricardo Amaro, lead economist at Oxford Economics said in a note to clients.

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The sitting Governor added that it was “confusing” for the Governor-elect to be communicating with state agencies or boards, and “efforts to bully or micromanage are inappropriate.”

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Related Words

• baffling 
• bewildering 
• complex 
• complicated 
• confounding 
• difficult 
• disconcerting 
• perplexing 
• upsetting