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confusion

noun

kən-ˈfyü-zhən How to pronounce confusion (audio)
Definition of confusionnext
1
as in fog
a state of mental uncertainty the farmer's driving directions to the fairground just left us in total confusion

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2
as in havoc
a state in which everything is out of order it was hard to find anything in that confusion in the attic

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3
as in embarrassment
the emotional state of being made self-consciously uncomfortable thrown into speechless confusion by the wild accusations

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of confusion Advanced signs include anxiety, confusion, agitation, hallucinations, extreme thirst paired with panic at the sight of fluids, heavy saliva and aggressive thrashing or biting. — The Sacramento Bee Staff, Sacbee.com, 18 Sep. 2026 The president’s confusion and inaction pose an immediate risk of slamming shut our small window of opportunity to make meaningful decisions about a technology that will almost certainly change the course of history and humanity. — Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026 There is also an age-rating wrinkle Another detail could cause some confusion. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026 One point of confusion among patients, according to Brigid Groves, a pharmacist with the American Pharmacists Association, is whether mFlusiva also protects against Covid. — Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 18 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for confusion
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confusion
  1. fog
  2. havoc
  3. embarrassment
  4. tangle
  5. chaos
  6. unease
  7. perplexity
  8. jumble
Noun
  • The fog will impact travel, especially along I-81 between Chilhowie and Christiansburg and along the Blue Ridge, as well as I-64 in southeast West Virginia.
    — NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The setting of Cahokia, with the Mississippi River running through the city, fog lifting from the surface to meld with the heat and smoke of early industrialization, is appropriately moody.
    — John Warner, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of fog
Noun
  • One way to ensure is to prepare for the amount of havoc the Red Wolves will attempt to generate with a creative defensive scheme.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The rain was incessant and the wind was playing havoc on the almost invisible race course.
    — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of havoc
Noun
  • Even an Impractical Joker, after hundreds of public challenges and punishments designed to push the limits of embarrassment, could still tense up when a cellphone camera caught him experimenting with a new bit.
    — Antonio Ferme, Variety, 19 Sep. 2026
  • There was once an NFL team with an embarrassment of talent amassed on its roster.
    — Chris Branch, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of embarrassment
Noun
  • Sticky beta-amyloid can build into brain-clogging plaque over decades, eventually spurring neuron-killing tau tangles that lead to symptoms.
    — Lauran Neergaard, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Sazan is a rugged place—strewn with rocks and tangles of trees, populated by a large colony of rats, and studded with bunkers built by the Marxist dictator Enver Hoxha to defend against an imaginary invasion.
    — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of tangle
Noun
  • What follows is 90 minutes of comedy, chaos and quick-thinking improvisation while the four sober actors fight to keep the script on track.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 18 Sep. 2026
  • Widow’s Bay may have horror, comedy and plenty of chaos, but Root said the cast approached it all with the same goal.
    — Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of chaos
Noun
  • This is another thing that’s clearly added to the unease within the industry.
    — Tyler Foggatt, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2026
  • But not everyone reads the appointment as reassuring, as the leadership reshuffle has come amid growing unease over the central bank's autonomy.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of unease
Noun
  • The first weeks were a roller coaster of pleasure and perplexity.
    — Tim Parks, New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2026
  • The fashion world, for the most part, reacted with perplexity.
    — Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2026
Definition of perplexity
Noun
  • Arches and natural bridges sweep like buttresses from jumbles of rock, giving this landscape a mystical, cathedral-like quality.
    — Madison Chapman, Outside, 25 Mar. 2026
  • Macaroons are chewy jumbles of coconut bound together with egg whites and sweetened condensed milk.
    — Lynda Balslev, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
Definition of jumble

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Cite this Entry

“Confusion.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confusion. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on confusion

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about confusion

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