confused 
4. Perplexed ; embarrassed ; disconcerted. 
1180 
A conceit . 
K. i 
nttrrly i- 
th fears. 
V ,... ..... I'alnccof Art. 
= Syn. 1. Iinllserlinlnate, Indistinct, Intricate, dcrmmcd. 
4. MyHtitlc.l, bewil.lerc.l, tlnnl..!, abash. !, .imeom 
| .0-1 .1. aultal' <l. 1 1 Hi.-. I. 
Confusedly (kou-fu'/ed-li), mlt. 1. In a eon- 
fused manner; in mixed mass or multitude, 
without order; indiscriminately; indistinctly; 
unclourly ; indist in^iiisliubly. 
N. iih' i --i a, i .or shore, n..r iiir, nor fire, 
Hut all tin-si' in their pregnant can*'* inix'd 
Cttnfu*.'ill,,. Mill,m, T. U, 11.914. 
2. With confusion or agitation of mind. 
Hi- cnnfuAetlly ami obscurely delivered his opinion. 
t 'Ini-i int'iii. 
confusedness (kou-fu'zed-nes), n. The state of 
beino; confused or disordered; want of order, 
distinctness, or clearness. 
The cause of the runfttufdness of our notions, next to 
natural Inability, is want of attention. .\ ";,.... 
COnfuselyt (kon-fuz'li), adv. Confusedly; ob- 
scurely. 
As when a name lod^'d In the memory, 
Hut yet Ihrouult time alm.wt obliterate, 
Cofusely hovers near the phantasy. 
/;/. //. Mm;; I'.sycllathanashi. II. III. 11. 
confusion (kon-fu'/hon), . [< ME. confusion, 
-ioini, \>. I'inifusie = G. confusion = Dan. kon- 
f union, < OF. confusion, F. confusion = Sp. con- 
fusion := Pg. conf'ustio= It. c,injnxi<nu; < L. ,,,- 
fusio(n-), < confiiHilrrf, pp. i-onfuxits, confuse, 
confound: see confuse and confound.] 1. The 
act of confusing or mingling together two or 
more things or notions properly separate ; the 
act or process of becoming confused or thrown 
together in disorder, go as to conceal or oblit- 
erate original differences, etc. 
The confusion of thought to which the Aristotelians 
were liable. Whewell. 
2. The state of being confused or mixed to- 
gether, Ijterally or figuratively ; an indiscrimi- 
nate or disorderly mingling; disorder; tumultu- 
ous condition : as, the confusion of the crowd. 
The whole city was filled with confusion. Acts xlx. 29. 
And never yet did Insurrection want 
Such water-colours to impalnt his cause ; 
Nor moody beggars, starving for a time 
Of pellmcll havoc and confusion. 
Shot., 1 Hen. IV., v. 1. 
3. The state of having confused or indistinct 
ideas ; lack of clearness of thought. 
This singular confusion between the attributes of the 
Deity and those of a constitutional monarch underlies 
all Warburton's argumentation. 
/.<-//. Stephen, Eng. Thought, vii. 19. 
4. Perturbation of mind; embarrassment; 
abashment; trouble; distraction. 
We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth 
us. .in. ill. 25. 
Confusion dwelt in every face, 
And feur in every heart. Spectator, No. 489. 
5. Overthrow; destruction; ruin. 
O t confusion on this villainous occasion ! 
Ford, Love's Sacrifice, L 2. 
Ruin seize thee, ruthless king ! 
Confusion on thy banners wait I 
Gray, The Bard, 1. 2. 
6t. One who confuses ; a conf ounder ; a troubler. 
Thou slye devourer and confusyon of gentil women. 
Chaucer, Good Women. 
7. (a) In eiril law, merger of two titles in the 
same person, (b) In civil law and Scots law, an 
extinction of an obligation or servitude by the 
fact that the two persons whose divided posi- 
tion is requisite for the continuance of a debt 
become one person, for example, when one be- 
comes the heir of the other. Alackeldey. circle 
Of least confusion. In i>hyia ! the section of the pencil 
of rays between the two focal lines in which the rays are 
most cloaely brought together that Is, the section which 
will, in the absence of a true focus, moat nearly satisfy the 
conditions of such a focus. Tait. = 8yn. 1. Derangement, 
jumble, chaos, turmoil. 4. Perplexity, bewilderment, dis- 
traction, mortification. 
confusional (kon-fu'zhon-al), a. [< confusion 
+ -?.] Relating to of characterized by con- 
fusion. [Rare.] 
confusive (kon-fu'siv), a. [< confuse + -ive. 
Cf. ML. confusive, adv., ignominiously.] Hav- 
ing a tendency to confuse ; confused. 
A confusive mutation in the face of the world. 
/;/-. Hall, Bezeklah. 
When lo ! ere yet I galn'd Its lofty brow, 
The sound of dashing floods, and (lashing arms, 
Ami neighing steeds, cot\fusive struck mine ear. 
T. Warton, Eclogues, Iv. 
COnfutable (kon-fu'ta-bl), a. [= Pg. confii/iii-fl 
= It. i-iinfiiiiiliile; as'conf ute + -able.] Capable 
of being confuted, disproved, or overthrown ; 
capable of l>eint: proved false, defective, or in- 
valid. 
. . fonfulattlr by dally experience. 
..IK. F.rr.,11. . 
COnfutantt (kon-fii'tant), . [< L. i-onfuta(l-)n, 
ppr. of i-inifuliir, . ....iilut. . ',(. | "ni' 
wno confutes or undertakes to confute. Mil tun. 
confutation (kon-ffl-t4'ihi), . [= P. </- 
tiilini, = Sp. i-iiiifnl'ii'iiin = I'g. coHj'utaylu = It. 
<;inl'ii/<l.-,iii-, < I,, i-iiiifiiliiliii(ll-), (riiiifiitttrr, pp. 
i-nHi'/iiiiinx, confute: see coufnii, r. \ The act of 
confuting, disproving, or proving to be false or 
invalid ; ovi-rt lirow, as of arguments, opinions, 
reasoning, theories, or conclusions. 
IIU great pains in the confutation of Luther's liooks. 
Jtr. Taylor, Rule of Conscience, l"ref. 
A confutation of athcUni from the frame of the .n 1.1. 
llcntley. 
Confutation of the person, in i,,-ii>; an arKunifiituni 
ad hominem ; an argument directed against an opponent 
personally, and not pertinent I., tin- question In dispute. 
Confutation of the person U done either by taunting, 
ntillnu', r. ii.l. iiii check for check, or by scorning and 
that ittirr )>y words or else by countenance, gesture, and 
a. HUM. Ill u, uteviUe(\'.O). 
confutative (kon-fu'ta-tiv), a. [< L. confuta- 
tns. pp. of confutare (see confute, v.), + -ive.] 
Adapt..! or di .signed to confute: as, a confuta- 
lii-i argument. \\iirhiirtnn. 
confute (kon-fuf), . t. ; pret. and pp. confuted, 
ppr. confuting. [= F. confuter = op. Pg. eon- 
fnt, ir = It. confutare, < L. confutare, check, 
repress, suppress, destroy, put down, silence; 
usually, put down by words, answer conclu- 
sively, refute ; also, rarely, in appar. lit. sense, 
check a boiling liquid as by stirring it with a 
spoon (or, as some think, orig. by pouring in 
cold water): < com-, together, + * 'futare, pour. 
pour often, keep pouring (only in glosses, and 
in comp. confutare and equiv. refutare, refute, 
and in deriv. futatim, abundantly, lit. pouring- 
ly), hence in comp., it is supposed, ' overwhelm 
with words ' ; a collateral form of futire, pour, 
in comp. effutire, blab, chatter, lit. pour put (cf . 
/fe,awater-pitcher,/ttfW,^j7w, futile: see 
futile), < / */u (= Or. ";rn> in x"' v )t simpler 
form of T/ f fud infundere, pp. fnsus, pour : see 
found?, fuse, and cf. confound, confuse. Cf. re- 
fute.] 1 . To prove to be false, defective, or in- 
valid ; overthrow by evidence or stronger argu- 
ment ; refute : as, to confute arguments, reason- 
ing, theory, or sophistry. 
We need not labour with so many arguments to confute 
judicial astrology. Sir T. Broime, Religlo Medici, I. 18. 
It [the cistern] is elevated above the ground nine yards 
on the South side, and six on the North, and within Is said 
to be of an unfathomable deepness ; but ten yards of line 
confuted that opinion. 
Maundrell, Aleppo to Jerusalem, p. 51. 
2. To prove (a person) to be wrong; convict 
of error by argument or proof. 
Satan stood 
. . . confuted, and convinced 
Of his weak arguing and fallacious drift. 
MiH'.,,. P. K., 111. 8. 
Some, that have been zealously of the mind that the 
devils could not in the shapes of good men afflict other 
men, were terribly confuted by having their own shapes, 
and the shapes of their most intimate and valued friends, 
thus abused. C. Mather, Hag. Chris., II. 13. 
3f. To disable; put an end to; stop. [Rare.] 
Our chief doth salute thee, 
And lest the cold iron should chance to confute thee, 
He hath sent thee grant-parole by me. 
B. Jonson, The Devil is an AM, r. 4. 
= 8yn. Confute, Refute. See refute, 
confutet (kgn-fut')t n. [< confute, v.] Confu- 
tation ; opposing argument. 
Ridiculous and false, below confute. 
Sir T. Broume, Vulg. Err., 11. 8. 
confutementt (kqn-fut'ment), n. [< confute + 
-ment; = It. confutamentd.] Confutation ; dis- 
proof. 
An opinion held by some of the best among reformed 
writers without scandal or confutement. 
Milton, Tctrachordon. 
confuter (kon-fu'ter), n. One who disprores or 
confutes. "Milton. 
cong. A pharmaceutical abbreviation of eon- 
, a gallon of 6 pints. 
i and D. An obsolete spelling of con- 
conge 2 t, [< L- congius : see congius.] A gal- 
lon or congius. 
A tonne of two hundred congys suftise 
With poundes XII of pitche, and more or lesse. 
Palladia*, Husbondrie (E. E. T. S.), p. 183. 
congS 1 (k6n-zha'), n. [P., leave, leave to de- 
part: seeconjrce 1 .] Leave; permission or leave 
to depart; dismissal: as, the ambassador re- 
ceived his conge : same as, and now commonly 
used (as distinctly French) in place of, congee*. 
Cong6 d'appel, in civil law, leave to appeal. Conge 
congee 
d dlfaut, or COngl-difaUt, dlnmiual by default ' 
h'.-t t.. pro.,-, ut.. ; n.mMut far default Conge d'illreor 
d'eallre |r'.,*>K. ; forin.-rly will. aU.. in K.), 
congr d '[,!-'. p. rniiMMon t.. . !,... : . '. . , < U 
.in an. I . liapt. r ; 
!h. mull nominal!.! rli<mu th. : 'I.. .1. an an. I 
chapU-r are hound to .-I.-. I Mitlnii a ..Main t !n 
I" i -on a* the crown Rhull recoiniiifn.i, on pain of in. in 
ring the |>enalties of a pnrmunirr. 
In the hurry of his (James's] first narliatn. -nt tti.- A. t <>f 
Mary which repealed the I i:.i. \l . J, t..v l. 
conye d'eslirt and tin- imlcin-niifiit jni . abol- 
ished, was lUelf repealed. 
fitubla, Medieval and Mini, in I 
C0ng6- (koh-zha'), n. [F., a ]iHrticnliir use of 
rtini/i ', leave, as if departure, Kjiring of the col- 
umn from its base.] Inarch., sain. ;i- :l/i,,/. III/;/' . 
congeable (kon'je-a-bl), a. [< OF. <,/. ,, ' 
I'uiii/i'iilili \, |.i-rmiiti.<l. ' ,;,i, ,!.... runi/it-r, giv<i 
leave: see congee 1 , v., nnil -iihlt:] In Inn , dom. 
with permission; lawful; lawfully done : as, 
entry congeable. 
congeal (kon-jel'), . [< ME. congelen, < OF.con- 
!l>-l'r, F. cttni/elrr = I'r. Sp. \'g. congelar = It. 
congtlare, < L. congclare, cause to freeze toge- 
ther, < com-, together, + f/eliire, freeze, < </'/. 
cold: see i/i'lutiii, i/ilnl. ./'"//, etc., :ind r/nV/1, 
cold, cool.] I. trans. 1. To convert from a fluid 
to a solid state, especially through loss of 
heat, as water in freezing, or melted metal or 
wax in cooling; freeze, stiffen, harden, con- 
crete, or clot. 
Lich unto slime which U congeltd. 
Gourer, Conf. Amant., II. 90. 
If they have not always a stream of tears at command- 
ment, they take it for a sign of a heart congealed and hard- 
.n. ..I iu sin. Hooker, Eccfea. Polity, vl. A. 
[The Island of Sal] hath Its name from the abundance of 
salt that is naturally concealed there, the whole island 
being full of large salt ponds. Dumpier, Voyages, an. 1683. 
Thick clouds ascend in whose rapacious womb 
A vapoury deluge lies, to snow congealed. 
Thornton, Winter, 1. 2S8. 
2. To check the flow of; cause to run cold; 
thicken. 
Seeing too much sadness hath conyeal'd your blood. 
Shak., T. of the 8., Ind., II. 
Here no hungry winter congeal* our blood like the rivers. 
Longfellow, Evangellne, II. S. 
II. intrans. To grow hard, stiff, or thick; 
pass from a fluid to a solid state, especially as 
an effect of cold ; harden ; freeze. 
Molten lead when it beginneth to cowfeai. Bacon. 
When water congeals, the surface of the ice is smooth 
and level. T. Burnet, Theory of the Earth. 
congealable (kon-jel'a-bl), a. [Formerly con- 
gelable, < F. co'ngelable = Sp. congclable, etc.; 
as congeal + -able.] Capable of being con- 
gealed, or of being converted from a fluid to a 
solid state. 
And yet this hot and subtile liquor I have found upon 
trial, purposely made, to be more easily co?i,jealable . . . 
by cold than even common water. Boyle, Works, II. 493. 
congealableness (kon-iel'a-bl-nes), n. The 
quality of being congealable. Boyle. 
congealedness (kon-jel'ed-nes), n. The state 
ofoeing congealed. Dr. H. More. 
COngealment (kon-jel'ment), n. [< congeal + 
-ment.] 1. The'act or process of congealing ; 
congelation. 2t. That which is formed by con- 
gelation; a concretion; a clot. 
They with joyful tears 
Wash the congealment from your wounds. 
Shak., A. and C., iv. a 
congeant, Same as conjoun. Coles, 1717. 
congee 1 (kon'- or kun'je), . [Early mod. E. 
also congie, congy, conge; < ME. congie, congey, 
leave, departure, < OF. congie, congiet, conget, 
later conge, mod. F. conge = Pr. conjat, comjat 
= It. comiato (It. also congedo, < OF. conget), 
leave, permission, esp. (like E. leave) permission 
to depart, departure, < ML. commeatus, comiatus 
(also, after OF., congiatus, congcdium, congedia, 
congerium, congenium), leave, permission, per- 
mission to depart, L. commeatus, conmcatux, a 
leave of absence, furlough, also lit. a going to 
and fro, going at will, hence also a passage, 
transportation, trip, caravan, provisions, sup- 
plies^ com meare, conmeare, pp. commeatus, con- 
meatus, go to and fro, go and come, < com- + 
meare, go, pass (cf . permeate). The word congee, 
passing out of vernacular use, became later, in 
the spelling conge, more immediately associated 
with the mod. P., and is now commonly ac- 
cented and pronounced as P. co<7^(k6n-zha') : 
seecong^.] I. Leave to depart ; leave-taking; 
dismissal; cong. 
Clergye to Conscience no conyeye wolde take, 
But seide ful sobrellche " thow shall se the tynie. 
Whan thow art wen- for-walkcd wilne me toconsallle." 
Piert Plowman (B), xill. SOS. 
