Word for a certain metaphor

Question

I am translating a book from Romanian to English. There is a word in the former language that denotes a state of confusion in a human being which could be translated as "without compass".

Is there any word in English which denotes the same idea and through which I could retain the same mental image (being "compass-less")?

EDIT: Context (example sentence) added below:

"We cut the tall bushes at every step with our machetes, forging our path with a thirst for blood. We are boiled up by the anticipation of the fight and psychically prepared. We aren’t anymore the confused prey from last night – vulnerable, frightened and __________ ("without compass"). "

It is a philosophical and psychological novel. That extract is from a certain scene that is related to war.

EDIT 2: More context

The scene which is referenced by "last night" is below.

"During the night, I see shadows that ooze through the forest, close enough to us, the ones that are established on the shore. “Enemies!” I yell from the depths of my lungs and all the soldiers jerk with their weapons drawn and start shooting scaredly without even aiming. The lieutenant endeavours to spot any enemy through the dark and, finally, orders us to cease fire. Lacking experience, but with some instruction, his hands and knees tremble. He never participated in a conflict."

Answer 1

Disoriented may be the word you're looking for:

(adj.) confused as to time or place; out of touch

(Dictionary.com)

Answer 2

Consider the idiomatic expression lose one's bearings:

To lose sight of or become unable to determine one's orientation, position, or abilities relative to one's surroundings or situation.

• as in After we missed the turnpike exit, we completely lost our bearings. These phrases use bearings in the sense of “relative position,” a usage dating from the 1600s.

(Dictionary.com)

Answer 3

I would use directionless or aimless were I you. Literally speaking both mean without direction or purpose, and are commonly used in reference to people who seem to lack direction or purpose in their lives.

Answer 4

Very common is the metaphor

All at sea

Meaning

In a state of confusion and disorder.

Origin

All at sea: This is an extension of the nautical phrase 'at sea'. It dates from the days of sail when accurate navigational aids weren't available. Any ship that was out of sight of land was in an uncertain position and in danger of becoming lost.

'At sea' has been in use since the 18th century, as here, in Sir William Blackstone's Commentaries on the laws of England, 1768:

"If a court of equity were still at sea, and floated upon the occasional opinion which the judge who happened to preside might entertain of conscience in every particular case."

The earliest reference to 'all at sea' in print that I can find is from Travel and adventure in south-east Africa, 1893, by Frederick C. Selous:

"I was rather surprised to find that he seemed all at sea, and had no one ready to go with me."

The Phrase Finder

Answer 5

Sometimes we use "rudderless" to convey the idea of moving without any clear direction or heading, such as in this book title, "The Rudderless Democracy" by Aravind Bhatikar

Answer 6

In the context of being scared I would suggest

Wandering

adjective 1. moving from place to place without a fixed plan

Although if you want a word that implies a quicker movement you may consider

Scramble

verb (used without object), scrambled, scrambling. 1. to climb or move quickly using one's hands and feet

---

After your edits you seem to want something extremely emotional. If you could include phrases go for the use of

Dismay

A sudden or complete loss of courage in the face of trouble or danger.

Answer 7

Interestingly enough, for the notion of "without direction or purpose", English seems to like a lot of nautical metaphors: "at sea", "rudderless", "adrift", etc. As I mentioned in the comments, I'm not sure I would mix these with a tale about an overland journey.

But in terms of what you are trying to say, you might like "forlorn":

(adjective)
1. Desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance.
2. Lonely and sad; forsaken.
3. Expressive of hopelessness; despairing
4. Bereft; destitute:

"Vulnerable, frightened, and forlorn" has a nice ring to it.

Answer 8

When I read the first two sentences of the question, my first thought was clueless.  But, after reading the context, it occurred to me that befuddled might be more appropriate:

Cambridge English Dictionary:

confused and unable to think clearly:
The director was sitting there looking somewhat befuddled.

Befuddled is, obviously, the past participle of befuddle:

Merriam-Webster:

1. to muddle or stupefy with or as if with drink
   < … befuddled with drink all the time. — Ellen Glasgow>
2. confuse, perplex <a problem that still befuddles the experts>

Oxford Dictionaries:

(usually as adjective befuddled)

Cause to become unable to think clearly:
‘even in my befuddled state I could see that they meant trouble’

… and, from the M-W definition, we get a couple more candidates: stupefied and perplexed.

Answer 9

If you fail to find the perfect single word, you could consider “off course” or “unsure of our way”, both of which could possibly work in your sentence.

We aren’t anymore the confused prey from last night – vulnerable, frightened and off course.

We aren’t anymore the confused prey from last night – vulnerable, frightened and unsure of our way.

off course

1. Lit. not going in the right direction. (*Typically: be ~; drift ~; get ~.) The ship is off course and may strike the reef!

2. Fig. not following the plan correctly. (*Typically: be ~; get ~.) The project is off course and won't be finished ontime. l am off course and doing poorly. See also: course, off (from McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs via The Free Dictionary by Farlex) © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Example usage of “unsure of our way” from libertichurch.org (paragraph 2):

Walking in darkness, we’re unsure of our way, on alert for unexpected obstacles, suspicious of every sudden movement, sound, or stranger that crosses our path.

Please note that although the perhaps more idiomatic “unsure of ourselves" {from Merriam-Webster} could replace “unsure of our way” in your sentence, it wouldn’t capture as well the notion of “without compass,” in my opinion.

(cf: If you were translating this into Scottish, perhaps “will [or “wil” or “wull”] would work: “adj. 1. (1) Of persons: astray, straying, lost, unsure of one's way or whereabouts, wandering” from * Dictionary of the Scots Language *)

Answer 10

From the context it appears that they were clueless.

"We cut the tall bushes at every step with our machetes, forging our path with a thirst for blood. We are boiled up by the anticipation of the fight and psychically prepared. We aren’t anymore the confused prey from last night – vulnerable, frightened and clueless."

M-W:

clueless adjective

2 : completely or hopelessly bewildered, unaware, ignorant, or foolish : clueless about what they want

They were clueless about what to do.

Collins:

clueless (in American English) adjective

2. b. Informal ignorant or uninformed, specif. regarding a certain situation or matter
clueless about baseball

Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.

Answer 11

Consider 'lost in the wood'.
It is a slang but a good metaphor meaning:

in a state of confusion and/or purposelessess that aids your emotions and/or current situation, some say it helps you see the path. others may prefer to live looking at the short term as their long term situation is bleak/dire.
(Source: Urban dictionary)

'...the confused prey from last night – vulnerable, frightened and lost in the woods.'