confusion

con|fu|sion [ kən`fjuʒn ] noun **

1. ) uncount a feeling that you do not understand something or cannot decide what to do:

confusion about/over: There seems to be some confusion about who actually won.

confusion as to: There was some confusion as to his real identity.

cause/create/lead to confusion: These changes have just caused more confusion among teachers.

in confusion: She stared at him in confusion.

2. ) uncount a situation in which things are messy, badly organized, or not clear:

Inside the building was a scene of total confusion.

in (all) the confusion: In all the confusion, we lost sight of each other.

confusion reigns: Confusion reigned as officials finally tried to sort out who had won the race.

3. ) singular or uncount a situation in which you mistake one person or thing for another:

There was a confusion between the governor's proposal and the Senate's.

Could there have been a confusion of identities?

avoid confusion: The wires are color-coded to avoid confusion.