Confusion

How to spell confusion

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce confusion

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does confusion mean?

1. nounA state of being bewildered, uncertain, or unable to think clearly, or a situation of disorder.

Confusion in a sentence

• The sudden change of schedule caused a lot of confusion among the staff.

• There was some confusion about which platform the train would leave from.

Where does confusion come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Confusion comes from the Latin confusio, meaning 'a mingling' or 'a pouring together', formed from the verb confundere, which combined con- 'together' with fundere 'to pour'. The literal image was of liquids being poured into one another until they blended into an indistinguishable mass, and from that physical sense grew the figurative idea of mental muddle and disorder. English took the word through Old French as confusion during the 1300s, when it often carried the strong sense of ruin or shame as well as bewilderment. The same fundere root still flows through relatives like 'fuse', 'refund', and 'transfusion'. The spelling trap is mostly the -sion ending, where the soft sound tempts writers toward -tion; remembering the fus root that ends in s helps fix the correct spelling.

How the word is built

• con- (together)
• fus (from fundere: to pour)
• -ion (noun of action/state)