Confusion is the uncomfortable feeling of not understanding something or not being clear about what's happening. When you're confused, your thoughts feel tangled up like a knot of string you can't untie. You might feel confused when a teacher explains a math concept too quickly, when you walk into a room and forget why you went there, or when you hear two friends telling completely different versions of the same story.

Confusion happens to everyone, and it can be the first step toward learning something new. A science experiment might cause confusion at first, but then you repeat it, ask questions, and suddenly it makes sense. You can handle confusion by asking for clarification, reading more carefully, or thinking through the problem step by step.

The word can also describe a chaotic situation where everything seems jumbled or disorganized. Picture the confusion of a fire drill when everyone's rushing toward the exits at once, or the confusion in a classroom when the substitute teacher can't find the lesson plan.

When you confuse two things, you mix them up or mistake one for the other. You might confuse identical twins, or confuse the words “desert” and “dessert” when spelling.