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.
Tiffany Feder, Dahan’s attorney, told reporters after the hearing that voter forms were mailed to Dahan’s home, and were confusing given her language barrier.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
When its researchers asked Anthropic's Claude why voters should elect Representative Don Davis from North Carolina, the chatbot listed "former school superintendent" among his credentials, confusing him with a different person.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
This miscellaneous mix of protests can seem confusing.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
After calling the Cheesecake Factory a “successful company,” he launched into a confusing defense of his garish White House redecoration.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
The techno music doesn’t seem to be confusing this thing—it flies with pure determination.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
