Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use confusion in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun

Confusion means a lack of clarity or order. Example: “They were baffled as to how the confusion could have arisen.”

Examples of confusion by meaning

nounA lack of clarity or order.

  • 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

nounThe act of mistaking one thing for another or conflating distinct things.

  • 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)...
  • 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

nounA group of wildebeest.

  • A group of wildebeest is called a confusion.2019 June 6, “A gaggle, a confusion and a conspiracy - bizarre animal collective group names”, in BBC
  • The runners are a confusion of wildebeest, fighting their way to the front.2024, Arron Steep, Morning of the Ouromor: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems, Rein A. Peterson
  • we came up over a rise and saw a dazzle of zebras and a confusion of wildebeest - by the thousands , not merely hundreds.2025, Peter Moore, Game Changer: Playing to Win at Xbox, EA Sports and Liverpool FC, Liverpool University Press

More sentences with confusion

  • They were baffled as to how the confusion could have arisen.From the entry baffle
  • He has improved recently but keeps relapsing into states of utter confusion.From the entry relapse
  • Lack of clarity on the part of the teacher will cause confusion among the students.From the entry clarity
  • Following some confusion the pitcher immediately attempted a quick pitch but was called for a balk.From the entry quick pitch
  • Amid the confusion, the theft of the baron's jewels went unremarked.From the entry unremarked
  • The difference in spelling between they're and their has for long caused confusion.From the entry for long
  • The later edition of the book sequenced the chapters differently, which caused a lot of confusion among non-technical readers.From the entry sequence
  • There was a period of confusion following the announcement.From the entry period
  • When we type the syllable "shi" in pinyin, we should always remember to put its tone number after it to avoid confusion.From the entry tone number
  • Politicians now use econobabble as a tool of mass confusion, aimed at scaring the public into doing things they don't want to do while narrowing our policy choices.From the entry econobabble
  • Confusion regarding the encoding of script elements extends to the keyboard layouts provided by operating systems.2026, Gerry Leonidas, “A framework for research-informed typeface design: Starting with Greek”, in The Bloomsbury Handbook of Global…. From the entry ano teleia
  • He watched confusion start to flicker in her eyes , followed by a flutter of panic.2024, Carol Marinelli, Bride Under Contract, Harlequin. From the entry flicker
  • Twinism also harbored confusion of age-bracket in a society where seniority and hierarchy were valorized.2024, J. Shola Omotola, Samuel Oyewole, The Political Economy of Kidnapping and Insecurity in Nigeria, page 156. From the entry twinism
  • The differences are sharp and explicit enough that they should provide grounds for discussion without causing confusion.2022, Rodney Huddleston, Geoffrey K. Pullum, Brett Reynolds, A Student's Introduction to English Grammar, 2nd edition, Cambridge…. From the entry head
  • She also reflected that a jumpy, wool-gathering wireless operator might cause less confusion ashore.2022, William J. Locke, Ancestor Jorico. From the entry wirelessless
  • If you can get that right, it will eliminate a lot of confusion.”2021 October 4, Liz Alderman, quoting Mikael Colville-Andersen, “As bikers throng the streets, ‘it’s like Paris is in anarchy’”, in The…. From the entry spaghetti
  • No train operating company bosses were prepared to criticise the confusion publicly.2021 July 28, Paul Clifton, “Network News: Confusion and dissent over face mask requirements”, in RAIL, number 936, page 8. From the entry off record
  • The ringing it left in his tympana was a great confusion.2020 [1992], Vernor Vinge, chapter 2, in A Fire Upon the Deep, 1st edition, New York: Tor Essentials, →ISBN, page 33. From the entry tympanum
  • Yes, there are many varieties of doggo, but don’t do yourself a confusion.2020, Doing Things Media, Doggos Doing Things: The Hilarious World of Puppos, Borkers, and Other Good Bois, Running Press, →ISBN. From the entry floofer
  • I could see her pain and confusion but there was nothing I could do.2019, Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, “Manchester Happened”, in Manchester Happened, Oneworld Publications (2020), page 73. From the entry Africanness
  • "Shen Yong, did you misopen the car?" Jiang Jing asked in confusion.2019, Xie Yingning, Light Warmth: Right Time, Our Time. From the entry misopen
  • That has only left room for some dot-connection, reading between the lines, or abject confusion.2019 November 24, Michael Lee, “Jimmy Butler boos, Josh Richardson buckets and a reunion for both players that answered a few lingering…. From the entry dot-connection
  • "Probably out to the wop wops and back." Hamish registered Erin's confusion.2018, Michele Bacon, Antipodes. From the entry wop-wops
  • "You've never seen a limoniad before?" At my obvious confusion, she added: "Ah.2018, Cube Kid [pseudonym; Erik Gunnar Taylor], Diary of an 8-Bit Warrior: Quest Mode, page 68. From the entry limoniad
  • There was just as much chaos and confusion within the heavenly lands themselves.[2017, Jeanne-Marie Gescher, “The Edges of Order”, in Becoming China: The Story Behind the State, Bloomsbury Caravel, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 501. From the entry Sibsongpanna
  • I dun't rightly think 'e's ever called owt else.” She realised my confusion.2016 November 1, Allison Littlewood, The Hidden People, Jo Fletcher Books, →ISBN. From the entry yedder
  • To avoid confusion in expressing these numbers, the SI prefixes are preferred.2014 May 16, Lela Buckingham, “Chapter 3: Systems of Measurement”, in Fundamental Laboratory Mathematics: Required Calculations for the…. From the entry quadrilliard
  • With their slippery, elongated body (up to 1.5 metres long), the confusion is completely understandable.2014 May 15, “Is it a snake? Is it an eel? No, it's a zangee!”, in amydeacon.weebly.com. From the entry zangee
  • To deepen my confusion, I’m not even sure I know what a handbasket is.2013, Paul Auster, Here and Now: Letters (2008–2011), page 182. From the entry handbasket
  • There is some confusion over the metronome mark of the slow movement.2013, Norman Del Mar, Richard Strauss: A Critical Commentary on His Life and Works, →ISBN. From the entry ma non troppo
  • At Apple there is never any confusion as to who is responsible for what.2011, Adam Lashinsky, “How Apple Works: Inside the World's Biggest Startup”, in Fortune magazine. From the entry DRI
  • Too much information causes stress and confusion and makes us do irrational things.2010, Kevin Duncan, quoting John Naish, “Affluenza, Herds and Quirkology: Mysterious Consumer Behaviour”, in Marketing Greatest Hits: A…. From the entry infobesity
  • From the beginning her mini-campaign, with its many missteps and fumblings, seem mired in confusion.2009 January 25, Sam Tanenhaus, “A Fumbled Handoff of the Torch”, in New York Times. From the entry fumbling
  • Now a new study confirms that confusion about interpreting living wills prevails in prehospital settings, as well.2009 February 24, Jane E. Brody, “Putting Muscle Behind End-of-Life Wishes”, in New York Times. From the entry prehospital

Meaning of confusion

  1. noun A lack of clarity or order.
  2. noun The state of being confused; misunderstanding.
  3. noun The act of mistaking one thing for another or conflating distinct things.

Full definition of confusion

Questions about confusion in a sentence

How do you use confusion in a sentence?
Confusion is used as a noun. For example: “They were baffled as to how the confusion could have arisen.”
What is a short sentence with confusion?
“A group of wildebeest is called a confusion.”
What does confusion mean?
Confusion means a lack of clarity or order.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: confusion (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use confusion in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/confusion. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.