confused

confused
confused early 14c., "discomfited, routed, defeated" (of groups), serving at first as an alternative pp. of CONFOUND (Cf. confound), as Latin confusus was the pp. of confundere "to pour together, mix, mingle; to join together;" hence, figuratively, "to throw into disorder; to trouble, disturb, upset." The Latin pp. also was used as an adjective, with reference to mental states, "troubled, embarrassed," and this passed into O.Fr. as confus "dejected, downcast, undone, defeated, discomfited in mind or feeling," which passed to M.E. as confus (14c.; e.g. Chaucer: "I am so confus, that I may not seye"), which then was assimilated to the English pp. pattern by addition of -ed. Of individuals, "discomfited in mind, perplexed," from mid-14c.; of ideas, speech, thought, etc., from 1610s. By mid-16c., the word seems to have been felt as a pure adj., and it evolved a back-formed verb in CONFUSE (Cf. confuse). Few English etymologies are more confused.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • confused — adj. 1. same as {confounded}; as, bewildered and confused. Syn: at sea, befuddled, bemused, bewildered, confounded, mazed, mixed up. [WordNet 1.5] 2. lacking orderly continuity. Syn: disconnected, disjointed, disordered, disorganized, desultory,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • confused — [adj1] disoriented mentally abashed, addled, at a loss*, at sea*, at sixes and sevens*, baffled, befuddled, bewildered, come apart*, dazed, discombobulated*, disconcerted, disorganized, distracted, flummoxed, flustered, fouled up*, glassy eyed*,… …   New thesaurus

  • confused — index ambiguous, complex, deranged, disjointed, disordered, disorderly, haphazard, inextricable, lost ( …   Law dictionary

  • confused — ► ADJECTIVE 1) bewildered. 2) lacking order and so difficult to understand or distinguish. DERIVATIVES confusedly adverb …   English terms dictionary

  • confused — adj. VERBS ▪ appear, be, feel, look, seem, sound ▪ become, get ▪ He was beginning to get rather confused …   Collocations dictionary

  • confused */*/ — UK [kənˈfjuːzd] / US [kənˈfjuzd] adjective Metaphor: Being confused is like being lost or being in the wrong place or position. You ve lost me. What do you mean? ♦ I was completely at sea: it was all so new to me. ♦ I felt adrift and alone, with… …   English dictionary

  • confused — con|fused [ kən fjuzd ] adjective ** 1. ) unable to understand something or think clearly about it: She was starting to feel a bit confused. confused about: I m still a little confused about what happened. totally/utterly/thoroughly/hopelessly… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • confused — adjective 1. perplexed by many conflicting situations or statements; filled with bewilderment (Freq. 5) obviously bemused by his questions bewildered and confused a cloudy and confounded philosopher just a mixed up kid she felt lost on the first… …   Useful english dictionary

  • confused — con|fused S3 [kənˈfju:zd] adj [Date: 1300 1400; : Old French; Origin: confus, from Latin confusus, past participle of confundere; CONFOUND] 1.) unable to understand or think clearly what someone is saying or what is happening ▪ I m totally… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • confused — [[t]kənfju͟ːzd[/t]] 1) ADJ GRADED: oft ADJ about/by n If you are confused, you do not know exactly what is happening or what to do. A survey showed people were confused about what they should eat to stay healthy... Things were happening too… …   English dictionary

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