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7 dictionary results for: Confusion
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
con·fu·sion 
[kuhn-fyoo-zhuhn] Pronunciation Key
[kuhn-fyoo-zhuhn] Pronunciation Key –noun
| 1. | the act of confusing. |
| 2. | the state of being confused. |
| 3. | disorder; upheaval; tumult; chaos: The army retreated in confusion. |
| 4. | lack of clearness or distinctness: a confusion in his mind between right and wrong. |
| 5. | perplexity; bewilderment: The more difficult questions left us in complete confusion. |
| 6. | embarrassment or abashment: He blushed in confusion. |
| 7. | Psychiatry. a disturbed mental state; disorientation. |
| 8. | Archaic. defeat, overthrow, or ruin. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| con·fu·sion
(kən-fyōō'zhən) Pronunciation Key
n.
con·fu'sion·al adj. |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
confusion
confusion
c.1290, "overthrow, ruin," from O.Fr. confusion (11c.), from L. confusionem, noun of action from confundere "to pour together," also "to confuse" (see confound). Sense of "a putting to shame" (a sort of mental "overthrow") is c.1340, while that of "mental perplexity" is from 1596. The history of the word confuse is, in a word, confused. Latin confusus was the pp. of confundere, and thus confused existed in M.E. from c.1330 as the pp. of confound. The L. pp. also became an adj. in O.Fr., meaning "discomfited in mind or feeling," and it passed to M.E. as confus (14c.; e.g. Chaucer: "I am so confus, that I may not seye"), which was then assimilated to Eng. pp. pattern by addition of -ed. From this, a new verb, confuse, was derived c.1550, with the literal sense "mix or mingle things so as to render the elements indistinguishable." In the active, figurative sense of "discomfit in mind or feeling," confuse is only recorded from 1805. This activity could have been expressed before that by native constructions like dumbfound and flabbergast, or by confound.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| confusion | |
noun | |
| 1. | disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably; "the army retreated in confusion" |
| 2. | a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior; "a confusion of impressions" |
| 3. | a feeling of embarrassment that leaves you confused |
| 4. | an act causing a disorderly combination of elements with identities lost and distinctions blended; "the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel" |
| 5. | a mistake that results from taking one thing to be another; "he changed his name in order to avoid confusion with the notorious outlaw" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
confusion con·fu·sion (kən-fy&oomacr;'zhən)
n.
Impaired orientation with respect to time, place, or person; a disturbed mental state.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: con·fu·sion
Function: noun
1 in the civil law of Louisiana : a uniting of two interests or rights in property into one —compare MERGER 1
2 in the civil law of Louisiana : the termination of an obligation by a person acquiring the right from which the obligation arose
3 : the mixing or blending together of goods or commodities so that the individual owners cannot identify their own property called also confusion of goods
Main Entry: con·fu·sion
Function: noun
1 in the civil law of Louisiana : a uniting of two interests or rights in property into one —compare MERGER 1
2 in the civil law of Louisiana : the termination of an obligation by a person acquiring the right from which the obligation arose
3 : the mixing or blending together of goods or commodities so that the individual owners cannot identify their own property called also confusion of goods
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Confusion
Con*fu"sion\, n. [F. confusion, L. confusio.]1. The state of being mixed or blended so as to produce indistinctness or error; indistinct combination; disorder; tumult. The confusion of thought to which the Aristotelians were liable. --Whewell. Moody beggars starving for a time Of pellmell havoc and confusion. --Shak. 2. The state of being abashed or disconcerted; loss self-possession; perturbation; shame. Confusion dwelt in every face And fear in every heart. --Spectator. 3. Overthrow; defeat; ruin. Ruin seize thee, ruthless king, Confusion on thy banners wait. --Gray. 4. One who confuses; a confounder. [Obs.] --Chapmen. Confusion of goods (Law), the intermixture of the goods of two or more persons, so that their respective portions can no longer be distinguished. --Blackstone. --Bouvier.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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