confound

verb

con·​found kən-ˈfau̇nd 

kän-

confounded; confounding; confounds

transitive verb

1

: to throw (a person) into confusion or perplexity

tactics to confound the enemy

2

a

: refute

sought to confound his arguments

b

: to put to shame : discomfit

a performance that confounded the critics

3

: damn

4

a

: to fail to discern differences between : mix up

They implored Charles not to confound the innocent with the guilty …

—T. B. Macaulay

b

: to increase the confusion of

5

a

: baffle, frustrate

Conferences … are not for accomplishment but to confound knavish tricks.

—John Kenneth Galbraith

b

archaic : to bring to ruin : destroy

6

obsolete : consume, waste

confounder

kən-ˈfau̇n-dər 

kän-

noun

confoundingly

kən-ˈfau̇n-diŋ-lē 

kän-

adverb

Synonyms

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

Choose the Right Synonym for confound

puzzle, perplex, bewilder, distract, nonplus, confound, dumbfound mean to baffle and disturb mentally.

puzzle implies existence of a problem difficult to solve.

the persistent fever puzzled the doctor

perplex adds a suggestion of worry and uncertainty especially about making a necessary decision.

a behavior that perplexed her friends

bewilder stresses a confusion of mind that hampers clear and decisive thinking.

a bewildering number of possibilities

distract implies agitation or uncertainty induced by conflicting preoccupations or interests.

distracted by personal problems

nonplus implies a bafflement that makes orderly planning or deciding impossible.

the remark left us utterly nonplussed

confound implies temporary mental paralysis caused by astonishment or profound abasement.

the tragic news confounded us all

dumbfound suggests intense but momentary confounding; often the idea of astonishment is so stressed that it becomes a near synonym of astound.

was at first too dumbfounded to reply

Examples of confound in a Sentence

The strategy confounded our opponents.

The murder case has confounded investigators.

The school's team confounded all predictions and won the game.

The success of the show confounded critics.

Recent Examples on the Web

One among them was scoring on floaters, on step-back 3s, in the midrange and at the rim, a player who missed all but two games the season before with a confounding ankle injury that eventually required surgery. —Joe Vardon, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2025

To make sure there weren’t other confounding factors, researchers accounted for things such as how often the participants sought medical care. —Katia Hetter, CNN Money, 16 Apr. 2025

The bond market is in turmoil, with the 10-year benchmark U.S. Treasury yield surging past 4.5% at one point this week in a confounding move for investors, one that many speculated led to Trump’s tariff reversal. —Sarah Min, CNBC, 11 Apr. 2025

Importantly, the two groups, only a few weeks apart in age, were not expected to differ significantly from one another, which would reduce the probability of confounding variables. —New Atlas, 5 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English confounden "to defeat, destroy, frustrate, bewilder," borrowed from Anglo-French confondre, going back to Latin confundere "to pour together, blend, bring into disorder, destroy, disconcert," from con- con- + fundere "to pour, shed" — more at found entry 5

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5b

Rhymes for confound

• abound
• aground
• around
• astound
• background
• campground
• clothbound
• earthbound
• eastbound
• expound
• fairground
• foreground

Kids Definition

confound

verb

con·​found kən-ˈfau̇nd 

kän-

1

: damn entry 1 sense 1

2

: to throw into disorder : mix up : confuse

our clever tactics confounded our opponents

confoundedly adverb