confused

A2 Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /kənˈfjuːzd/ See IPA manual

Freq #2071

Meanings

1

adj
Unable to think clearly or understand something.

Many people are confused about what counts as a healthy food.
2

adj
Not clear or well organized; mixed up.

He gave me a confused set of instructions that made no sense.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · unable to think clearly or... puzzled perplexed bewildered

2 adj · not clear or well... disordered garbled

More addle-patedaddledaddlepatedbaffledbefuddledconfuzzleddazzleddiscombobulateddisconcerteddumbfoundedflabagasted

Word family

Forms confusedly

Derived forms confuddledconfusedlyconfusednessfoncusedinconfusednipple-confusednonconfused

Related forms complex confuse confusing confusion

Etymology

Originally from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus + Middle English -ed (past participial suffix), from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō; now equivalent to confuse (a back-formation) + -ed.

confused Middle English confus xno -ed Middle English cōnfūsus Latin

View etymology graph ->

External links

# confused

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /kənˈfjuːzd/
**Frequency rank:** 2071

## Meanings
1. Unable to think clearly or understand something.
2. Not clear or well organized; mixed up.

## Examples
- Many people are confused about what counts as a healthy food.
- He gave me a confused set of instructions that made no sense.

## Synonyms
- addle-pated
- addled
- addlepated
- baffled
- befuddled
- bewildered
- confuzzled
- dazzled
- discombobulated
- disconcerted
- dumbfounded
- flabagasted

## Derived Forms
- confuddled
- confusedly
- confusedness
- foncused
- inconfused
- nipple-confused
- nonconfused

## Related Forms
- complex
- confuse
- confusing
- confusion

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: confused
- Root: confus
- Root: -ed
- Root: cōnfūsus

## Etymology
Originally from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus + Middle English -ed (past participial suffix), from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō; now equivalent to confuse (a back-formation) + -ed.

## AI Etymology
confused is an adjective and verb. Originally from Middle English confused (“frustrated, ruined”), from Anglo-Norman confus + Middle English -ed (past participial suffix), from Latin cōnfūsus, past participle of cōnfundō; now equivalent to confuse (a back-formation) + -ed. Historical forms in the chain include confused (Middle English), confus (Anglo-Norman), -ed (Middle English), and cōnfūsus (Latin). Current senses include unable to think clearly or understand something and not clear or well organized; mixed up. Derived forms include confuddled, confusedly, confusedness, foncused, and inconfused. Related words include complex, confuse, confusing, and confusion.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition

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confused

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