confusion

See also: confusión

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Old French confusion, from Old French confusio, confusionem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈfjuːʒən/
• Rhymes: -uːʒən

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

confusion (usually uncountable, plural confusions)

1. A lack of clarity or order.
2. The state of being confused; misunderstanding.
3. (archaic) A state of shame or embarrassment.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling:

     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 […]

Synonyms

• (lack of clarity or order): discombobulation
• (state of being confused): bewilderment, disarray

Antonyms

• (lack of clarity or order): clarity
• (misunderstanding): distinction

Translations

lack of clarity or order

• Armenian: շփոթ (hy) (špʻotʻ)
• Assamese: খেলিমেলি (khelimeli), আউল (aul)
• Bulgarian: объркване (bg) n (obǎrkvane), бъркотия (bg) f (bǎrkotija)
• Catalan: confusió (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 混亂／混乱 (zh) (hùnluàn), 混乱 (zh) (hǔnluàn)

• Czech: zmatek (cs) m
• Danish: forvirring c, forvirrelse c
• Dutch: verwarring (nl), war (nl)
• Esperanto: konfuzo
• Finnish: sekaannus (fi), epäselvyys, hämmennys (fi)
• French: confusion (fr) f, désordre (fr) m
• German: Verwirrung (de) f, Durcheinander (de) n, Konfusion (de) f, Verwechslung (de) f
• Greek: σύγχυση (el) f (sýnchysi), μπέρδεμα (el) n (bérdema)

  Ancient Greek: ταραχή f (tarakhḗ)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: (bilbul) בלבול (he) m
• Hungarian: zavar (hu), összevisszaság (hu)
• Icelandic: ruglingur (is) m, brengl (is) n
• Italian: confusione (it) f, disordine (it) m
• Japanese: 混乱 (ja) (konran)
• Khmer: ល្បែ (lbae)
• Latin: tumultus m
• Malay: kekeliruan
• Maori: matangerengere, kaumingomingo, pōkaikaha
• Polish: zamieszanie (pl) n, chaos (pl) m
• Portuguese: confusão (pt) f
• Romanian: confuzie (ro) f
• Russian: пу́таница (ru) f (pútanica), неразбери́ха (ru) f (nerazberíxa), беспоря́док (ru) m (besporjádok)
• Slovak: zmätok m, chaos m
• Spanish: confusión (es)
• Telugu: తడబాటు (te) (taḍabāṭu)

state of being confused; misunderstanding

• Armenian: շփոթմունք (hy) (špʻotʻmunkʻ), շփոթվածություն (hy) (špʻotʻvacutʻyun), շփոթություն (hy) (špʻotʻutʻyun)
• Bulgarian: объркване (bg) (obǎrkvane), неяснота (bg) f (nejasnota)
• Catalan: confusió (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 混淆 (zh)

• Danish: forvirring c, forvirrelse c
• Esperanto: konfuzo
• Finnish: hämmennys (fi)
• French: malentendu (fr) m, confusion (fr) f
• German: Verwirrung (de) f, Missverständnis (de) n
• Greek: σύγχυση (el) f (sýnchysi), παραζάλη (el) f (parazáli), σάστισμα (el) n (sástisma)

  Ancient Greek: ταραχή f (tarakhḗ)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: ruglingur (is) m, brengl (is) n
• Irish: cíor thuathail f
• Italian: disorientamento (it) m, sbandamento (it) m
• Japanese: 混乱 (ja) (konran), 混同 (ja) (kondō)
• Maori: raumaharatanga, pōnānātanga, matangerengere
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: forveksling m or f

  Nynorsk: forveksling f

• Polish: nieporozumienie (pl) n
• Portuguese: confusão (pt) f
• Quechua: musphay, pantay
• Romanian: confuzie (ro) f
• Russian: недоразуме́ние (ru) n (nedorazuménije), замеша́тельство (ru) n (zamešátelʹstvo), смяте́ние (ru) n (smjaténije)
• Slovak: zmätenosť f, nedorozumenie n
• Swedish: förvirring (sv) c

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Irish: ^{(please verify)} neamhord m, ^{(please verify)} srúsram m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

---

French

Etymology

From Middle French confusion, from Old French confusion, borrowed from Latin confusio, confusionem, from verb confundo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ̃.fy.zjɔ̃/

Noun

confusion f (plural confusions)

1. confusion

Further reading

• “confusion”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

---

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French confusion.

Noun

confusion f (plural confusions)

1. confusion

Descendants

• French: confusion

---

Old French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin confusio, confusionem.

Noun

confusion oblique singular, f (oblique plural confusions, nominative singular confusion, nominative plural confusions)

1. spread (act or instance of spreading)

Descendants

• English: confusion
• Middle French: confusion
  • French: confusion