| / English Dictionary |
CONFUSION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A mistake that results from taking one thing to be another
Example:
he changed his name in order to avoid confusion with the notorious outlaw
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("confusion" is a kind of...):
error; fault; mistake (a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention)
Derivation:
confuse (mistake one thing for another)
Sense 2
Meaning:
An act causing a disorderly combination of elements with identities lost and distinctions blended
Example:
the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("confusion" is a kind of...):
combination; combining; compounding (the act of combining things to form a new whole)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confusion"):
babel (a confusion of voices and other sounds)
Derivation:
confuse (assemble without order or sense)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior
Example:
a confusion of impressions
Synonyms:
confusedness; confusion; disarray; mental confusion; muddiness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("confusion" is a kind of...):
cognitive state; state of mind (the state of a person's cognitive processes)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confusion"):
disorientation (confusion (usually transient) about where you are and how to proceed; uncertainty as to direction)
distraction (mental turmoil)
daze; fog; haze (confusion characterized by lack of clarity)
half-cock (confusion resulting from lack of preparation)
jamais vu (the experience of being unfamiliar with a person or situation that is actually very familiar; associated with certain types of epilepsy)
bafflement; befuddlement; bemusement; bewilderment; mystification; obfuscation; puzzlement (confusion resulting from failure to understand)
perplexity (trouble or confusion resulting from complexity)
Derivation:
confuse (be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly)
Sense 4
Meaning:
A feeling of embarrassment that leaves you confused
Synonyms:
confusion; discombobulation
Classified under:
Nouns denoting feelings and emotions
Hypernyms ("confusion" is a kind of...):
embarrassment (the shame you feel when your inadequacy or guilt is made public)
Derivation:
confuse (cause to feel embarrassment)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably
Example:
the army retreated in confusion
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("confusion" is a kind of...):
disorder (a disturbance of the peace or of public order)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "confusion"):
demoralisation; demoralization (a state of disorder and confusion)
bluster (noisy confusion and turbulence)
bedlam; chaos; pandemonium; topsy-turvydom; topsy-turvyness (a state of extreme confusion and disorder)
hugger-mugger (a state of confusion)
schemozzle; shemozzle ((Yiddish) a confused situation or affair; a mess)
Context examples:
In the kitchen reigned confusion and despair.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
“I did not know that you intended to walk,” said Miss Bingley, in some confusion, lest they had been overheard.
(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)
Symptoms of Powassan virus disease can include fever, headache, vomiting, weakness, confusion, loss of coordination, speech difficulties, and seizures.
(Tick salivary glands can be a tool to study virus transmission and infection, National Institutes of Health)
It can cause headaches, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, confusion, loss of consciousness, and other health problems.
(Acetone, NCI Dictionary)
It was such a scene of confusion as you can hardly fancy.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Its use was discontinued due to extreme side effects that included delirium, confusion, visual disturbances, hallucinations and violence; some evidence of long-term memory disorders and schizophrenia-like syndrome has been observed.
(Phencyclidine, NCI Thesaurus)
On being charged with the fact, the poor girl confirmed the suspicion in a great measure by her extreme confusion of manner.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
We can imagine that in the confusion of flight something precious, something which he could not bear to part with, had been left behind.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
As the youth withdrew in confusion, Sir William's keen eye singled out the five red roses from amid the overlapping shields and cloud of pennons which faced him.
(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I have only to beg that, if the occasion should require it, you will all give me your assistance to keep the ground clear, to prevent confusion, and to have a fair fight.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
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