Definition of "confusion"

confusion

/kənˈfjuːʒən/

noun
usually uncountable, plural confusions
1. A lack of clarity or order.
2. The state of being confused; misunderstanding.
  Quotations
  Forgive these wild and wandering cries,⁠Confusions of a wasted youth;⁠Forgive them where they fail in truth,And in thy wisdom make me wise.
  1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], prologue
3. The act of mistaking one thing for another or conflating distinct things.
  Quotations
  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, page 128
4. Lack of understanding due to dementia.
5. (archaic) A state of shame or embarrassment.
  Quotations
  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