confusion

See also: confusión

English

Etymology

From Middle English confusioun, from Old French confusion, from Latin confusio, confusionem.

Morphologically confuse +‎ -ion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈfjuːʒən/
• Rhymes: -uːʒən

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

confusion (usually uncountable, plural confusions)

1. A lack of clarity or order.
2. The state of being confused; misunderstanding.
   • 1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Prologue:

     Forgive these wild and wandering cries,
     ⁠Confusions of a wasted youth;
     ⁠Forgive them where they fail in truth,
     And in thy wisdom make me wise.

3. The act of mistaking one thing for another or conflating distinct things.

   The confusion of sexual orientation and gender identity leads to discrimination and stereotyping.

   • 1908, “lay v.¹”, in James A. H. Murray et al., editors, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles (Oxford English Dictionary), volume VI, Part 1, London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 128:

     Now (exc. in Nautical language, see b) it is only dialectal or an illiterate substitute for lie, its identity of form with the past tense of the latter no doubt accounting largely for the confusion.

4. Lack of understanding due to dementia.
5. (archaic) A state of shame or embarrassment.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:

     Lady Bellaston fixed her eyes on Sophia whilst she spoke these words. To which that poor young lady, having her face overspread with blushes and confusion, answered, in a stammering voice […]

Synonyms

• (lack of clarity or order): discombobulation
• (state of being confused): bewilderment, disarray

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “lack of clarity or order”): clarity
• (antonym(s) of “misunderstanding”): distinction

Derived terms

• cone of confusion
• confusional
• confusionism
• confusionist
• deconfusion
• inconfusion
• minim confusion
• muscle confusion
• nipple confusion
• reverse confusion

 

Translations

lack of clarity or order

• Arabic: اِلْتِبَاس m (iltibās)

  Hijazi Arabic: لخبطة f (laḵbaṭa), حوسة f (ḥōsa), خربطة f (ḵarbaṭa)

• Armenian: շփոթ (hy) (špʻotʻ)
• Assamese: খেলিমেলি (khelimeli), আউল (aul)
• Bulgarian: объ́ркване (bg) n (obǎ́rkvane), бъркоти́я (bg) f (bǎrkotíja)
• Catalan: confusió (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 混亂 / 混乱 (zh) (hǔnluàn)

• Czech: zmatek (cs) m
• Danish: forvirring c, forvirrelse c
• Dutch: verwarring (nl), war (nl)
• Esperanto: konfuzo
• Finnish: sekaannus (fi), epäselvyys (fi), hämmennys (fi)
• French: confusion (fr) f, désordre (fr) m
• German: Verwirrung (de) f, Durcheinander (de) n, Konfusion (de) f, Verwechslung (de) f
• Greek: σύγχυση (el) f (sýnchysi), μπέρδεμα (el) n (bérdema)

  Ancient: ταραχή f (tarakhḗ), τύρβη f (túrbē)

• Hebrew: בִּלְבּוּל (he) m (bilbúl)
• Hindi: गड़बड़ (hi) m or f (gaṛbaṛ)
• Hungarian: zavar (hu), összevisszaság (hu)
• Icelandic: ruglingur (is) m, brengl (is) n
• Irish: suaitheadh m
• Italian: confusione (it) f, disordine (it) m
• Japanese: 混乱 (ja) (こんらん, konran)
• Khmer: ល្បែ (lbae)
• Korean: 혼란(混亂) (ko) (hollan)
• Ladino: embroyo, dubarina, enredijo, mareo, taburra
• Latin: tumultus m
• Malay: kekeliruan
• Maori: matangerengere, kaumingomingo, pōkaikaha
• Ottoman Turkish: قارش (karış)
• Polish: zamieszanie (pl) n, chaos (pl) m
• Portuguese: confusão (pt) f
• Romanian: confuzie (ro) f
• Russian: пу́таница (ru) f (pútanica), неразбери́ха (ru) f (nerazberíxa), беспоря́док (ru) m (besporjádok)
• Slovak: zmätok m, chaos (sk) m
• Spanish: confusión (es)
• Telugu: తడబాటు (te) (taḍabāṭu)
• Tocharian B: traike
• Ushojo: وار خطئ

state of being confused; misunderstanding

• Arabic: اِرْتِبَاك (ar) m (irtibāk)
• Armenian: շփոթմունք (hy) (špʻotʻmunkʻ), շփոթվածություն (hy) (špʻotʻvacutʻyun), շփոթություն (hy) (špʻotʻutʻyun)
• Bulgarian: объ́ркване (bg) n (obǎ́rkvane), неяснота́ (bg) f (nejasnotá)
• Catalan: confusió (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 混淆 (zh) (hùnxiáo, hùnyáo, hǔnxiáo)

• Danish: forvirring c, forvirrelse c
• Esperanto: konfuzo
• Finnish: hämmennys (fi)
• French: malentendu (fr) m, confusion (fr) f
• German: Verwirrung (de) f, Missverständnis (de) n
• Greek: σύγχυση (el) f (sýnchysi), παραζάλη (el) f (parazáli), σάστισμα (el) n (sástisma)

  Ancient: ταραχή f (tarakhḗ)

• Icelandic: ruglingur (is) m, brengl (is) n
• Irish: cíor thuathail f
• Italian: disorientamento (it) m, sbandamento (it) m
• Japanese: 混乱 (ja) (こんらん, konran), 混同 (ja) (こんどう, kondō)
• Khiamniungan Naga: tālâm
• Korean: 혼란(混亂) (ko) (hollan), 혼동(混同) (ko) (hondong), 착란(錯亂) (ko) (changnan)
• Malayalam: ആശയക്കുഴപ്പം (ml) (āśayakkuḻappaṁ)
• Maori: raumaharatanga, pōnānātanga, matangerengere
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forveksling m or f

  Nynorsk: forveksling f

• Ottoman Turkish: قارش (karış)
• Plautdietsch: Wirwoa m
• Polish: nieporozumienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: confusão (pt) f
• Quechua: musphay, pantay
• Romanian: confuzie (ro) f
• Russian: недоразуме́ние (ru) n (nedorazuménije), замеша́тельство (ru) n (zamešátelʹstvo), смяте́ние (ru) n (smjaténije)
• Slovak: zmätenosť f, nedorozumenie n
• Swedish: förvirring (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Irish: ^{(please verify)} neamhord m, ^{(please verify)} srúsram m

French

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French confusion, from Old French confusion, borrowed from Latin cōnfusiōnem, from verb confundo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.fy.zjɔ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

confusion f (plural confusions)

1. confusion

Derived terms

• prêter à confusion

Further reading

• “confusion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French confusion.

Noun

confusion f (plural confusions)

1. confusion

Descendants

• French: confusion

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin confusio, confusionem.

Noun

confusion oblique singular, f (oblique plural confusions, nominative singular confusion, nominative plural confusions)

1. spread (act or instance of spreading)

Descendants

• English: confusion
• Middle French: confusion
  • French: confusion