Confusion
[kən'fjuːʒ(ə)n] or [kən'fjʊʒən]
Definition
(noun.) a mistake that results from taking one thing to be another; 'he changed his name in order to avoid confusion with the notorious outlaw'.
(noun.) an act causing a disorderly combination of elements with identities lost and distinctions blended; 'the confusion of tongues at the Tower of Babel'.
(noun.) a mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior; 'a confusion of impressions'.
(noun.) a feeling of embarrassment that leaves you confused.
(noun.) disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably; 'the army retreated in confusion'.
Checked by Aurora--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The state of being mixed or blended so as to produce indistinctness or error; indistinct combination; disorder; tumult.
(n.) The state of being abashed or disconcerted; loss self-possession; perturbation; shame.
(n.) Overthrow; defeat; ruin.
(n.) One who confuses; a confounder.
Editor: Terence
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. [1]. Confusedness, disorder, disarrangement, derangement, disarray, jumble, chaos, anarchy.[2]. Tumult, turmoil, commotion, ferment, stir, agitation.[3]. Distraction, perplexity, embarrassment, bewilderment, astonishment.[4]. Shame, mortification, abashment.[5]. Overthrow, destruction, defeat, ruin.
Checked by Charlie
Synonyms and Antonyms
[See ORDER]
Editor: Patrick
Examples
- My heart turns faint, my mind sinks in darkness and confusion when I think of it. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- And really, after a day or two of confusion worse confounded, it was delightful by degrees to invoke order from the chaos ourselves had made. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- To complete her confusion, she saw Belle nudge Annie, and both glance from her to Laurie, who, she was happy to see, looked unusually boyish and shy. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
- Early says in his Memoirs that if we had discovered the confusion in his lines we might have brought fresh troops to his great discomfort. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- I never saw such faltering, such confusion, such amazement and apprehension. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- But in the height of the confusion, a mounted man galloped away to order the relays, and our horses were put to with great speed. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The shots from our little gun dropped in upon the enemy and created great confusion. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- We heard the firing and confusion very plainly here; we none of us slept. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Why no,--I think--you had better--better say nothing about it, said Sophia, with ill-disguised anxiety and evident confusion. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- They had gone, in shortand very great had been the evident distress and confusion of the lady. Jane Austen. Emma.
- Poor bewildered statesmen, unused to any notion of change, have seen the national life grow to a monstrous confusion and sprout monstrous evils by the way. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- There are such lots of horrors this morning, she added, clearing a space in the centre of the confusion and rising to yield her seat to Miss Bart. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- He saw the grotesque, and a curious sort of mechanical motion intoxicated him, a confusion in nature. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- The clamor and confusion of the battle drew Miss Ophelia and St. Clare both to the spot. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- So they fell into the confusion of making immediate and detailed proposals that have nothing to do with the attainment of their ideal. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- We cannot tell what seeds of the future may not be germinating already amidst our present confusions. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The infinite confusions and disorder, which it has caused in the world, diminish much of its merit in their eyes. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
Typist: Osborn