Confusingly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a fashion that creates ambiguity and hinders comprehension
2. Executed in a way that leads to perplexity and obscures meaning
3. In a manner that makes understanding difficult or unclear

Etymology: "Confusingly" is a plain formation: the adjective "confusing" with the adverb suffix "-ly" added to it. The suffix has a longer history than the word it sits on. It traces back through Proto-Germanic "-līkō" to a root meaning "body" or "form," so that "-ly" originally meant "having the form of" and was once a free-standing word-building element attached to nouns and adjectives. In Old English it appeared as "-līċe," and over the centuries it wore down to the short "-ly" used today. "Confusing" itself is the present participle of "confuse," a verb that came into English from Latin "confundere," meaning "to pour together" or "to mix up." The sense of mixing things until they can't be told apart maps neatly onto the adverb's modern meaning: an action done in a way that leaves the listener or reader unable to sort things out.

Synonyms: perplexingly, bewilderingly, ambiguously, obscurely, vaguely

Antonyms: clearly, evidently, plainly, obviously, distinctly