1. A mental state characterized by a lack of clear and orderly thought and behavior: After her car accident, Jane suffered from confusion and didn’t know what actually happened.
2. The misunderstanding of a situation or the facts: In Jim's English class, there was a lot of confusion about the difference in meanings between the terms “facetious” and "fictitious” because many of the students had problems using these words correctly in their essays.
3. A failure to distinguish between people or things: Jane was in a state of confusion about her new relatives and had to write a list of who belonged to which side of the family.
4. A chaotic or disordered state: The children played together wonderfully in David's bedroom; however, when they left the room, it was in complete confusion with the table turned upside down, the bedspread was on the floor, the toys were scattered all over the place, and the books were not in the bookcase anymore!
5. Self-consciousness or embarrassment: Sara was in a state of confusion and very upset after realizing that she had greeted someone whom she thought was her sister-in-law.