Definition of confound
transitive verb
1a archaic : to bring to ruin : destroyb : baffle, frustrate Conferences … are not for accomplishment but to confound knavish tricks. — John Kenneth Galbraith
3a : to put to shame : discomfit a performance that confounded the criticsb : refute sought to confound his arguments
4 : damn
5 : to throw (a person) into confusion or perplexity tactics to confound the enemy
6a : to fail to discern differences between : mix up They implored Charles not to confound the innocent with the guilty … — T. B. Macaulayb : to increase the confusion of
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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
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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.
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The Russians proved eager to confuse, confound, and embarrass everyone involved in the 2016 election.
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Its opaque, unpredictable government often confounds U.S. intelligence assessments.
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Its opaque, unpredictable government often confounds U.S. intelligence assessments.
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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.
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When subjects are snoozing, researchers can isolate conscious experiences from the confounding influence of the senses.
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But inventing new technology has a way of defying deadlines and confounding cost projections.
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Wax says these observational studies that find a benefit from water births probably overestimate the benefits and underestimate the risks because of confounding factors.
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, from Anglo-French confundre, from Latin confundere to pour together, confuse, from com- + fundere to pour — more at found
Synonym Discussion of confound
CONFOUND Defined for English Language Learners
confound
playDefinition of confound for English Language Learners
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: to surprise and confuse (someone or something)
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: to prove (someone or something) wrong
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—used as an interjection to express anger or annoyance
CONFOUND Defined for Kids
Learn More about confound
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See words that rhyme with confound Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for confound Spanish Central: Translation of confound Nglish: Translation of confound for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of confound for Arabic speakers
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