confused

1. 1
   adjective

   Unable to think clearly or to understand what is happening or being said.

   The patient seemed confused and couldn't remember how she had gotten to the hospital.

   After the third plot twist, most of the audience was thoroughly confused.

   Similarbewildered, puzzled, baffled, perplexed, befuddled

   Oppositelucid, clear-headed, alert

   Note

   A state of mind with a favorite preposition: people are confused about something, such as what counts as a healthy food choice. A puzzle can also have us confused. As an adjective it grades freely: more confused, most confused, thoroughly confused. It describes the person trying to follow, and differs from the "illogical" sense, which faults the reasoning or the answer itself.

2. 2
   adjective

   Disoriented; lacking a clear sense of one's location, direction, or situation.

   The driver became confused at the unfamiliar interchange and missed the exit.

   Jet lag left him confused about whether it was morning or night.

   Similardisoriented, lost, bewildered, muddled, befuddled

   Oppositeoriented, clear-headed, alert

3. 3
   adjective

   Lacking order or clarity; chaotic, jumbled, or muddled together.

   Reporters struggled to make sense of the confused situation at the border.

   Her notes were a confused tangle of dates, names, and half-finished sentences.

   Similarchaotic, jumbled, muddled, disorganized, disordered

   Oppositeorderly, organized, clear, systematic

4. 4
   adjective

   Making no sense; illogical or incoherent in reasoning or expression.

   The senator gave a confused answer that contradicted itself twice.

   Critics dismissed the report as confused, noting that its conclusions did not follow from its data.

   Similarincoherent, muddled, illogical, garbled, unclear

   Oppositecoherent, logical, lucid, clear

5. 5
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of confuse.

   The conflicting reports confused investors and sent the market tumbling.

   Witnesses were confused by the rapid sequence of events.

   Note

   Here history runs backwards: the participle came first. Middle English already had confused, meaning "frustrated, ruined," built from Anglo-Norman confus, and the verb confuse was formed from it later as a back-formation. Today one spelling serves as simple past (the reports confused investors) and as past participle (witnesses were confused). In passives it slides easily into the adjective for muddled thinking.

6. 6
   adjective

   Feeling embarrassed and self-conscious, to the point of being briefly flustered.

   Blushing and confused, she mumbled her thanks and hurried off the stage.

   He grew confused under her steady gaze and stammered an excuse.

   Similarflustered, embarrassed, abashed, disconcerted

   Oppositecomposed, calm, collected, poised

   Note

   Here the confusion is social rather than mental. The verb behind it, confuse in the sense "to make uneasy and ashamed," is now dated. As a result, the embarrassed reading rarely stands alone. A blush, a stammer or a steady gaze in the sentence usually signals shame rather than plain bewilderment.

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