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confusion

con·fu·sion

UK/kənˈfjuːʒən/ US/kʌˈnfjuʒʌn/ fairly common

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”
Synonyms
3.

a feeling of embarrassment that leaves you confused

Synonyms
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”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English confusioun, from Old French confusion, from Latin confusio, confusionem. Morphologically confuse + -ion.

Phrases

  • cone of confusion
  • minim confusion
  • muscle confusion
  • nipple confusion
  • reverse confusion
  • year of confusion

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.