confusion

CEFRB1

/kənˈfjuːʒən/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

01
noun
A lack of clear understanding.
02
noun
Extra detail
The act of mistaking one thing for another or conflating distinct things.

Examples

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Deep Dive

Extra meanings

In context

His confusion betrayed his lie.
But much of the federal workforce is located outside the nation’s capital, and Trump’s offer was met with confusion and skepticism in many of those offices.
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.

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

The word in print, with each source given in full.

But much of the federal workforce is located outside the nation’s capital, and Trump’s offer was met with confusion and skepticism in many of those offices.
2025 February 1, Tami Luhby, Eric Bradner and Rene Marsh, “Federal employees confused, angered by Trump’s offer to quit”, in CNN
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.
1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Prologue”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC
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.
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
Confusion of sex and gender continues when she begins to address what the sex-change operation achieves.
1996, Frank William Lewins, Bioethics for Health Professionals, page 128
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 […]
1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

Looking a word up is the easy part. LexUp remembers which words you have met and brings them back at the point you were about to forget them.

From Middle English confusioun, from Old French confusion, from Latin confusio, confusionem. Morphologically confuse + -ion.