confound

confound

verb

Definition of CONFOUND

1

to throw into a state of mental uncertainty <we were confounded by the player's remote control, which wasn't at all user-friendly>

Synonyms addle, baffle, bamboozle, beat, befog, befuddle, bemuse, bewilder, buffalo, confound, discombobulate, disorient, flummox, fox, fuddle, get, gravel, maze, muddle, muddy, mystify, perplex, pose, puzzle, vex

Related Words stick, stump, weird out; abash, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle; agitate, bother, chagrin, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturb, perturb, stun, unhinge, unsettle, upset; beguile, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, humbug, misguide, mislead, snow, string along, take in, trick

Near Antonyms assure, reassure, satisfy; enlighten, inform

2

to throw into a state of self-conscious distress <his renewed popularity has confounded the critics who said his singing career was dead>

Synonyms abash, confound, confuse, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle

Related Words agitate, bother, chagrin, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturb, perturb, put off, put out, unhinge, unsettle, upset; debase, degrade, demean, humble, humiliate, queer, shame

Near Antonyms calm, comfort, console, relieve, soothe; buoy, cheer, embolden, encourage, hearten; assure, reassure

3

to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related <I think you've confounded astrology with astronomy>

Synonyms conflate, confound, mistake, mix (up)

Related Words lump (together); misapply, miscall, misidentify, misname

Antonyms difference, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, separate

4

to prove to be false <new discoveries that confound much of what archaeologists thought they knew about the Mayan civilization>

Synonyms belie, confound, confute, debunk, disconfirm, discredit, falsify, rebut, refute, shoot down

Related Words overthrow, overturn; challenge, contest, query, question; doubt, mistrust; debate, discuss, hash (over), moot, talk over

Near Antonyms document, evidence, evince, record, show, support, witness; back (up), buttress, corroborate, substantiate; adduce, attest, authenticate, certify, identify; demonstrate, display, illustrate, manifest

Antonyms confirm, establish, prove, validate, verify