confound

verb con·found \ kən-ˈfau̇nd , kän- \

Updated on: 11 Sep 2017

Definition of confound

transitive verb

1 a archaic :to bring to ruin :destroy

b :baffle, frustrate

Conferences … are not for accomplishment but to confound knavish tricks.
—John Kenneth Galbraith

2 obsolete :consume, waste

3 a :to put to shame :discomfit

a performance that confounded the critics

b :refute

sought to confound his arguments

4 :damn

5 :to throw (a person) into confusion or perplexity

tactics to confound the enemy

6 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

—

confounder

play \kən-ˈfau̇n-dər, kän-\ noun

—

confoundingly

play \kən-ˈfau̇n-diŋ-lē, kän-\ adverb

See confound defined for English-language learners

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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 of confound from the Web

Confounding the battle lines was one inconvenient fact that everyone, black and white, could agree on: Until that Saturday morning a year ago, the soldier had stood guard almost entirely without controversy.

— the washington post, AL.com, "A police car damaged an Alabama Confederate monument and reopened a town's painful wounds," 20 July 2017
The Russians proved eager to confuse, confound, and embarrass everyone involved in the 2016 election.

— victor davis hanson, National Review, "Putin’s Playthings," 20 July 2017
Its opaque, unpredictable government often confounds U.S. intelligence assessments.

— robert burns, The Seattle Times, "US defenses get pressured by North Korean missile advances," 6 July 2017
Its opaque, unpredictable government often confounds U.S. intelligence assessments.

— robert burns, chicagotribune.com, "North Korean missile advances put new stress on U.S. defenses," 5 July 2017
Residents living in the U.S.S. Lead Superfund Site in East Chicago left a Monday public hearing by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development about the demolition of the West Calumet Housing Complex confounded by a lack of answers.

— carrie napoleon, Post-Tribune, "Superfund demolition brings more questions than answers," 27 June 2017
When subjects are snoozing, researchers can isolate conscious experiences from the confounding influence of the senses.

— tanya lewis, Scientific American, "Brain Activity during Sleep Can Predict When Someone Is Dreaming," 26 June 2017
But inventing new technology has a way of defying deadlines and confounding cost projections.

— jeffrey kluger, Time, "Eyes In the Sky," 22 June 2017
Wax says these observational studies that find a benefit from water births probably overestimate the benefits and underestimate the risks because of confounding factors.

— nadia kounang, CNN, "How safe are water births? Legionnaire's cases raise questions," 20 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of confound

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 ⁵found

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First Known Use: 14th century

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confound Synonyms

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

Antonyms

difference, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, separate

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

Synonym Discussion of 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

CONFOUND Defined for English Language Learners

confound

verb

Definition of confound for English Language Learners

: to surprise and confuse (someone or something)
: to prove (someone or something) wrong
—used as an interjection to express anger or annoyance

CONFOUND Defined for Kids

confound

verb con·found \ kən-ˈfau̇nd , kän- \

Definition of confound for Students

confounded; confounding

:confuse 1

The crime has confounded police.

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confound

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confounder

confoundingly

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Origin and Etymology of confound

confound Synonyms

Synonyms

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CONFOUND Defined for English Language Learners

confound

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confound

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