confusing
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confusing
Explanation
Something that's confusing doesn't make any sense — it perplexes you. A confusing, hand-drawn map might lead you in circles as you try to find your destination. It can be confusing to walk out of a dark movie theater into the bright sunlight, or to get a phone call from someone whose voice you don't recognize. Situations like this disorient you a little bit. Things that are difficult and complicated, like a really hard math test, can also be confusing. The adjective comes from confuse, which has a Latin root, confundere, "mingle together."
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.
And the information a patient gets through the NHS app can be confusing.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
Pegan acknowledged it’s confusing to the public when a health incident like this occurs because “they hear ‘this is a really bad disease.’”
From Los Angeles Times • May 11, 2026
Since the NBA ended its long-running deal to air games on TNT and TBS, things have gotten far more confusing for fans.
From MarketWatch • May 11, 2026
In the age of artificial intelligence, there is the added advantage that the purposeful ambiguity of corporate jargon makes it confusing for large language models.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 30, 2026
This need not be confusing; the year 45 BCE is the same as 45 BC, and the year 1945 CE is the same as AD 1945.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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.
