confound

[ kon-found, kuhn-; for 6 usually kon-found ]

/ kɒnˈfaʊnd, kən-; for 6 usually ˈkɒnˈfaʊnd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR confound ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to perplex or amaze, especially by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse: The complicated directions confounded him.

to throw into confusion or disorder: The revolution confounded the people.

to throw into increased confusion or disorder.

to treat or regard erroneously as identical; mix or associate by mistake: truth confounded with error.

to mingle so that the elements cannot be distinguished or separated.

to damn (used in mild imprecations): Confound it!

to contradict or refute: to confound their arguments.

to put to shame; abash.

Archaic.

to defeat or overthrow.
to bring to ruin or naught.

Obsolete. to spend uselessly; waste.

Origin of confound

1250–1300; Middle English conf(o)unden < Anglo-French confoundre < Latin confundere to mix, equivalent to con- con- + fundere to pour

SYNONYMS FOR confound

1 dumbfound, daze, nonplus, astound.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR confound ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM confound

con·found·a·ble, adjective con·found·er, noun con·found·ing·ly, adverb in·ter·con·found, verb (used with object)

pre·con·found, verb (used with object) un·con·found, verb (used with object) un·con·found·ing, adjective un·con·found·ing·ly, adverb

Words nearby confound

conformance, conformation, conformational analysis, conformist, conformity, confound, confounded, confraternity, confrere, confront, confrontation

Example sentences from the Web for confounding

But it is unfounded fear by an American public at minimal risk of contracting the illness that is confounding those efforts.

Quarantine Turns Ebola Heroes Into Pariahs |Russell Saunders |October 28, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
They were simply seen as easy, wealthy targets, confounding local conventions of the time.

Every Viking ‘Fact’ Is Wrong |Nico Hines |March 19, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
One of the most confounding aspects of the process, these officials say, is why the State Department is seen as largely untouchéd.

Exclusive: How the State Department Escaped the Shutdown |Josh Rogin, Eli Lake |October 8, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Margaret Thatcher was a woman: a confounding, irrepressible, flirtatious, stubborn, certitudinous, unabashedly conservative woman.

How Margaret Thatcher Transformed British Politics |Tunku Varadarajan |April 8, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Whether those increases are because of environmental exposures or from other confounding variables is difficult to determine.

Can Certain Jobs Cause Breast Cancer? A New Study Suggests Yes |Florence Williams |November 21, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Mr Jowett had warned Borrow to “beware of confounding the two distinct ideas of translation and interpretation!”

The Life of George Borrow |Herbert Jenkins
And shot by the hand of Rama, that shaft, confounding by its energy the other Rama, came back blazing into Rama's hands.

Mahabharata of Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa Bk. 3 Pt. 1 |Krishna-Dwaipayana Vyasa
To be sure it is no easy matter to free ourselves from the habit of confounding identity and individuality.

The Religious Sentiment |Daniel G. Brinton
But living force is what we are trying to differentiate from mechanical force, and what do we gain by confounding the two?

The Breath of Life |John Burroughs
This thing of confounding life with motion I'm thinking leads to difficulty.

The Christian Foundation, Or, Scientific and Religious Journal, Volume I, No. 7, July, 1880 |Various

British Dictionary definitions for confounding

confound

/ (kənˈfaʊnd) /

verb (tr)

to astound or perplex; bewilder

to mix up; confuse

to treat mistakenly as similar to or identical with (one or more other things)

(kɒnˈfaʊnd) to curse or damn (usually as an expletive in the phrase confound it!)

to contradict or refute (an argument, etc)

to rout or defeat (an enemy)

obsolete to waste

Derived forms of confound

confoundable, adjective confounder, noun

Word Origin for confound

C13: from Old French confondre, from Latin confundere to mingle, pour together, from fundere to pour

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

confound

verb (used with object)

Origin of confound

SYNONYMS FOR confound

OTHER WORDS FROM confound

Words nearby confound

Example sentences from the Web for confounding

British Dictionary definitions for confounding

verb (tr)

Derived forms of confound

Word Origin for confound

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

confound

verb (used with object)

Origin of confound

SYNONYMS FOR confound

OTHER WORDS FROM confound

Words nearby confound

Words related to confounding

Example sentences from the Web for confounding

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verb (tr)

Derived forms of confound

Word Origin for confound

British Dictionary definitions for confounding