mixed message
Confusing, contradictory signal
A mixed message is communication that contains contradictory signals, leaving the recipient uncertain about the sender's true meaning or intent.
Someone might say they're fine while their body language shows distress, or a company might praise employees while cutting their benefits.
He kept sending mixed messages—flirting one day, ignoring her the next.
The plural mixed messages is equally common.
Causing mental uncertainty
- inconsistentLacking steady uniformity
- conflictingIncompatible with each other
- paradoxicalSeemingly absurd yet true
- misleadingCausing false beliefs
dissonant · incongruous · equivocal · miscommunication · noncommittal · vacillating · hypocrisy · irony
Mental disorientation or bewilderment
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- vaguenessAbsence of precision
- unclearNot easily understood
- indecisivenessFailure to commit
doubt · imprecision · muddled · cryptic · hedging · evasive · noncommittal · oblique
confusing
Causing mental uncertainty
- inconsistentLacking steady uniformity
- conflictingIncompatible with each other
- paradoxicalSeemingly absurd yet true
misleading · dissonant · incongruous · equivocal · miscommunication · noncommittal · vacillating · hypocrisy · irony · insincerity
confusion
Mental disorientation or bewilderment
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- vaguenessAbsence of precision
- unclearNot easily understood
indecisiveness · doubt · imprecision · muddled · cryptic · hedging · evasive · noncommittal · oblique · indefinite
- miscommunicationmix-up, confusion, crossed wires, misinterpreted, misunderstanding
- gibberishgibberish, nonsense, babble, babbling, drivel
- inconsistenciesinconsistency, discrepancy, contradiction, mismatch, disparity
- ambiguityambiguity, ambivalence, double meaning, vagueness, equivocation
mixed messageclear signal
Unambiguous transmitted message
plain speech · clear communication · plain language · clarity · directness
mixed messagestraight talk
Honest, direct communication
candor · telling it like it is · cards on the table · laying it out · unvarnished truth
mixed, message, mixes, mixing, mixer, mixers, unmixed, messages, messaging