confused
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verb (used with object), con·fused, con·fus·ing.
1.
to perplex or bewilder: The flood of questions confused me.
2.
to make unclear or indistinct: The rumors and angry charges tended to confuse the issue.
3.
to fail to distinguish between; associate by mistake; confound: to confuse dates; He always confuses the twins.
4.
to disconcert or abash: His candor confused her.
5.
to combine without order; jumble; disorder: Try not to confuse the papers on the desk.
Origin:
back formation from confused (since early 19th century), Middle English confused < Anglo-French confus (with -ed -ed2 maintaining participial sense) < Latin confūsus, past participle of confundere; see confound
back formation from confused (since early 19th century), Middle English confused < Anglo-French confus (with -ed -ed2 maintaining participial sense) < Latin confūsus, past participle of confundere; see confound
Related forms
con·fus·a·ble, adjective
con·fus·a·bil·i·ty, noun
con·fus·a·bly, adverb
con·fus·ed·ness, noun
pre·con·fuse, verb (used with object), pre·con·fused, pre·con·fus·ing.
pre·con·fus·ed·ly, adverb
re·con·fuse, verb (used with object), re·con·fused, re·con·fus·ing.
su·per·con·fused, adjective
un·con·fus·a·ble, adjective
un·con·fus·a·b·ly, adverb
un·con·fused, adjective
un·con·fus·ed·ly, adverb
Synonyms
1. mystify, nonplus. Confuse, disconcert, embarrass imply temporary interference with the clear working of one's mind. To confuse is to produce a general bewilderment: to confuse someone by giving complicated directions. To disconcert is to disturb one's mind by irritation, perplexities, etc.: to disconcert someone by asking irrelevant questions. To embarrass is to cause one to be ill at ease or uncomfortable, so that one's usual judgment and presence of mind desert one: to embarrass someone by unexpected rudeness. 4. mortify, shame. 5. disarray, disarrange, disturb.
1. mystify, nonplus. Confuse, disconcert, embarrass imply temporary interference with the clear working of one's mind. To confuse is to produce a general bewilderment: to confuse someone by giving complicated directions. To disconcert is to disturb one's mind by irritation, perplexities, etc.: to disconcert someone by asking irrelevant questions. To embarrass is to cause one to be ill at ease or uncomfortable, so that one's usual judgment and presence of mind desert one: to embarrass someone by unexpected rudeness. 4. mortify, shame. 5. disarray, disarrange, disturb.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To confused
00:10
Confused
is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
confuse (kənˈfjuːz) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to bewilder; perplex |
| 2. | to mix up (things, ideas, etc); jumble |
| 3. | to make unclear: he confused his talk with irrelevant details |
| 4. | to fail to recognize the difference between; mistake (one thing) for another |
| 5. | to disconcert; embarrass |
| 6. | to cause to become disordered: the enemy ranks were confused by gas |
| [C18: back formation from confused, from Latin confūsus mingled together, from confundere to pour together; see | |
| con'fusable | |
| —adj | |
| confusa'bility | |
| —n | |
| confused (kənˈfjuːzd) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | feeling or exhibiting an inability to understand; bewildered; perplexed |
| 2. | in a disordered state; mixed up; jumbled |
| 3. | lacking sufficient mental abilities for independent living, esp through old age |
| confusedly | |
| —adv | |
| confusedness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
confuse
c.1550, in literal sense "mix or mingle things so as to render the elements indistinguishable;" attested from mid-18c. in active, figurative sense of "discomfit in mind or feeling;" not in general use until 19c., taking over senses formerly belonging to confound, dumbfound,
flabbergast etc. The pp. confused (q.v.) is attested much earlier (serving as an alternate p.t. to confound), and the verb here might be a back-formation from it. Related: Confusing (1846).
confused
early 14c., "discomfited, routed, defeated" (of groups), serving at first as an alternate pp. of confound, as Latin confusus was the pp. of confundere "to pour together, mix, mingle; to join together;" hence, figuratively, "to throw into disorder; to trouble, disturb,
upset." The Latin pp. also was used as an adjective, with reference to mental states, "troubled, embarrassed," and this passed into O.Fr. as confus "dejected, downcast, undone, defeated, discomfited in mind or feeling," which passed to M.E. as confus (14c.; e.g. Chaucer: "I am so confus, that I may not seye"), which then was assimilated to the English pp. pattern by addition of -ed. Of individuals, "discomfited in mind, perplexed," from mid-14c.; of ideas, speech, thought, etc., from 1610s. By mid-16c., the word seems to have been felt as a pure adj., and it evolved a back-formed verb in confuse. Few English etymologies are more confused.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Time became strange, and she had a tendency to feel lost and confused.
We also sought to show that these regulations are based on confused thinking.
In other words, he has the ardor and sincerity-and the confused notions-typical of so many intelligent autodidacts.
He looked confused, and had more questions to follow.
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