1
as in confusing
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
be careful not to conflate gossip with real news
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in combining
to turn into a single mass or entity that is more or less the same throughout
the movie conflates documentary footage and dramatized reenactments so seamlessly and ingeniously that viewers may not know what is real and what is not
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of conflating
The first is conflating selling with self-promotion.
—
Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Don’t make this mistake of conflating style with substance.
—Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026
Neighbors like the crypto mine next door to Shadden are what data center opponents want to avoid, though data center industry cautions against conflating the two.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 May 2026
What most people get wrong is conflating the theme of the exhibition with the dress code for the evening.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 May 2026
By conflating antiauthoritarian arguments with incitement, conservatives are making the same error but following it to the opposite conclusion.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
The Beauty is about wanting to nip and tuck ourselves into better versions, but conflating that desire with actual scientific research is odd.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
The report states that a series of conflating issues, such as widespread budget cuts, technological disruption, the dominance of streamers, and economic instability, have caused the feeling of fear and crisis across the industry.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2026
Stacy Hawthorne, board chair of the Consortium for School Networking, an association for school technology officials that signed the letter, is concerned that some are conflating social media, which can cause problems for children, with technology more broadly, which can help students learn.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 23 Jan. 2026
Cynthia Pong, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Don’t make this mistake of conflating style with substance.
—Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026
Neighbors like the crypto mine next door to Shadden are what data center opponents want to avoid, though data center industry cautions against conflating the two.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 May 2026
What most people get wrong is conflating the theme of the exhibition with the dress code for the evening.
—José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 2 May 2026
By conflating antiauthoritarian arguments with incitement, conservatives are making the same error but following it to the opposite conclusion.
—Jonathan Chait, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
The Beauty is about wanting to nip and tuck ourselves into better versions, but conflating that desire with actual scientific research is odd.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2026
The report states that a series of conflating issues, such as widespread budget cuts, technological disruption, the dominance of streamers, and economic instability, have caused the feeling of fear and crisis across the industry.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 5 Feb. 2026
Stacy Hawthorne, board chair of the Consortium for School Networking, an association for school technology officials that signed the letter, is concerned that some are conflating social media, which can cause problems for children, with technology more broadly, which can help students learn.
—Tyler Kingkade, NBC news, 23 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conflating
Verb
-
Schoen’s contract extension is confusing at best.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
22 May 2026
-
Huxley’s critique is clear; America mistakes body for spirit, promiscuously confusing the physical with the metaphysical.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 May 2026
Verb
-
The Gen 1 models were assembled by combining replica 356 bodies with more modern Porsche suspension, engines, transmissions, and more.—
Peter Nelson,
Robb Report,
27 May 2026
-
Optical interferometers were invented more than a century ago, but orchestrating and combining signals from multiple telescopes across long baselines has proved much harder to accomplish with visible light compared to the relative ease of working in radio waves.—
K. R. Callaway,
Scientific American,
27 May 2026
Verb
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And mistaking one for the other is another legacy of how the Cold War foreshortened the humanistic possibilities of the intellectual revolution of the past eighty years—a revolution that has, miraculously, allowed people to communicate with machines using human languages.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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Their father, Nahuel (Amién), flits from one romantic affair to another, failing to recognize his shortcomings the way fathers typically forget minor yet significant details, like mistaking his younger daughter’s shoe size or never delivering on his promise to have the sink fixed.—
Lé Baltar,
IndieWire,
16 May 2026
Verb
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Try mixing 15 to 20 drops of an essential oil in a spray bottle of water with a few drops of liquid dish soap.—
Joan Morris,
Mercury News,
25 May 2026
-
As for baking soda, the greatest success was observed when mixing diluted baking soda with horticulture oil.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
25 May 2026
Verb
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But integrating chatbots made for adults into toys for kids poses its own array of threats, Padilla told the Union-Tribune.—
Noelle Harff,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
29 May 2026
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Fernandez Bibeau’s portfolio as parks commissioner, effective June 1, will include integrating green infrastructure into the city’s broader open space strategy and strengthening coordination across cabinets to advance the city’s climate goals.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
28 May 2026
Verb
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The new study suggests that the Milky Way merging with the Loki galaxy was almost on the scale of the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus event.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
23 May 2026
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This originally emerged , in part, through the visual languages circulating across Latin America and small pockets on the internet, the aesthetic speaks to how women have long been merging disparate style worlds into something entirely new.—
Tiana Randall,
Forbes.com,
22 May 2026
Verb
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The rooms Each of the 56 rooms is unique, blending the building’s industrial past with modern finishes and bright colors.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
27 May 2026
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Russell’s Reserve 10-Year and Wild Turkey Rare Breed demonstrate the power of age and blending within a single house style, while Elijah Craig Small Batch and Old Forester 1920 show that classic mash bills can still deliver thoroughly modern, full-throttle experiences.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Verb
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To Coimbra, some key questions involved amalgamating real-life characters into fictionalized ones while still honoring victims and survivors, as well as faithfully recreating the look and feel of the time.—
Rafa Sales Ross,
Variety,
6 Apr. 2026
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By amalgamating these museological devices into the artwork, Aram directly upsets the threefold impulse to pierce form with meaning, to arrest color with identity, and to neutralize bodies with limits.—
Julian Stern,
Artforum,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Conflating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conflating. Accessed 29 May. 2026.
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