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
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.
The power vacuum has dented morale and left CDC staffers confused as senior officials have rotated in and out amid shifting priorities and clashes over policy, say current and former employees.
"The Border Patrol officers had no protocol of what to do with the disabled man who doesn't speak English, who is confused and lost," he said.
From BBC
At this point, even a dedicated Spiritualist admitted, “The replies were confused.”
From Literature
I passed the feedback along to this manager to speak with more clarity, especially with anxious and easily confused new employees.
She likes to tell the story of how, after she was treated for a concussion and a broken arm at a local hospital, she wandered the halls confused why nobody was trying to charge her.
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.
