Definition of CONFLATE

Did You Know?

We're not just blowing hot air when we tell you that conflate can actually be traced back to the same roots as the English verb blow. Conflate derives from conflatus, the past participle of the Latin verb conflare ("to blow together, to fuse"), which was formed by combining the prefix com- with the verb flare, meaning "to blow." The source of Latin flare is the same ancient root word that gave us blow. Other descendants of flare in English include afflatus ("a divine imparting of knowledge or power"), inflate, insufflation ("an act of blowing"), and flageolet (a kind of small flute-the flageolet referring to a green kidney bean is unrelated).

Examples of conflate in a Sentence

be careful not to conflate gossip with real news the movie conflates documentary footage and dramatized reenactments so seamlessly and ingeniously that viewers may not know what is real and what is not

Recent Examples on the Web

People tend to conflate it with the ADA and assume they are allowed to bring their ESA into all public places. — Wes Siler, Outside Online, "You May Never Fly with Your Fake Service Dog Again," 30 May 2018 So patients shouldn't conflate data gathered from an at-home device with receiving a real diagnosis from a doctor. — Jordyn Hermani, Indianapolis Star, "Fishers teen discovers she has heart defect after wearing Fitbit," 14 July 2018 Speaking from his own experience, Blake cautioned against conflating creativity with psychological suffering. — Andy Hermann, Billboard, "James Blake Speaks Out on Managing 'Suicidal Thoughts' & Staying Healthy on the Road," 2 July 2018 So although Trump claimed those gaps were his reason for pulling out of JCPOA, according to the Washington Post, his statement conflated several unrelated issues. — Politifact, Teen Vogue, "President Donald Trump Lies About Iran and North Korea," 11 June 2018 But these two issues often end up conflated and confused in the dizzying debate about drug affordability. — Dylan Scott, Vox, "The 6 most interesting parts of Trump’s mostly disappointing drug price plan," 11 May 2018 Because usually schisms conflate only when they are supported by the state, and this was the case in the Ukraine. — The Economist, "Transcript: Interview with Metropolitan Hilarion Alfeyev," 1 Feb. 2018 The show really pushes its self-referential cred to the edge by conflating Arthur’s mission with the production’s own crusade to make it to Broadway. — James Hebert, sandiegouniontribune.com, "'Spamalot' induces more than canned laughter in Cygnet revival," 2 July 2018 For years the authorities have conflated the campaign for tribal rights with India’s long-running Maoist insurgency. — The Economist, "Stone-carving villagers make Indian officials jittery," 7 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'conflate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.