confusion

Etymology

From Middle English confusioun, from Old French confusion, from Latin confusio, confusionem. Morphologically confuse + -ion.

noun

1. A lack of clarity or order.
2. The state of being confused; misunderstanding.
3. The act of mistaking one thing for another or conflating distinct things.
   The confusion of sexual orientation and gender identity leads to discrimination and stereotyping.
   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), volume VI, Part 1, London: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 128
4. Lack of understanding due to dementia.
5. (archaic) A state of shame or embarrassment.
   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 […] 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling