1
as in to confuse
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
we were confounded by the player's remote control, which wasn't at all user-friendly
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to embarrass
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
his renewed popularity has confounded the critics who said his singing career was dead
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to conflate
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
I think you've confounded astrology with astronomy
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in to refute
to prove to be false
new discoveries that confound much of what archaeologists thought they knew about the Mayan civilization
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confound
One confounding factor comes from two other LG galaxies: M33, a satellite galaxy, and the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC).
—
Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
Second, the researchers in the present study controlled for many confounding health variables.
—New Atlas, 24 June 2025
Moscow has confounded Western expectations that severe sanctions would wreck the country’s economy and has instead enjoyed a couple of years of high growth.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2025
The offerings confounded college hitters, and minor-league batters haven’t fared much better.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for confound
Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 3 June 2025
Second, the researchers in the present study controlled for many confounding health variables.
—New Atlas, 24 June 2025
Moscow has confounded Western expectations that severe sanctions would wreck the country’s economy and has instead enjoyed a couple of years of high growth.
—Lawrence D. Freedman, Foreign Affairs, 18 June 2025
The offerings confounded college hitters, and minor-league batters haven’t fared much better.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 17 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for confound
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confound
Verb
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The man is Jack Ryan, not to be confused with the Jack Ryan dreamed up by Tom Clancy.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
30 June 2025
-
There are at least eight varieties of Lambrusco grapes (not to be confused with Vitis labrusca of North America), of which the best known, oldest and most abundant is Lambrusco di Sorbara.—
John Mariani,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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SoCal embarrassed the Jekyll & Hyde Utah team, who were flying how but who lose easily to the near-last place Hard Eights for their only win of the weekend.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
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Such an attack might embarrass Trump and spur him to make good on his threat in his address to the nation on Saturday evening to respond to Iran with even greater force.—
Uri Friedman,
The Atlantic,
23 June 2025
Verb
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But DeGeneres ultimately refuted the claims that savaged her career.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
23 June 2025
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The Palestinian activist, who was born in a Syrian refugee camp and holds Algerian citizenship, has refuted those allegations and charges that his criticism of Israeli military activity and advocacy for civilians in Gaza and the West Bank is based on bigotry.—
Molly Crane-Newman,
New York Daily News,
20 June 2025
Verb
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The stock comeback of the last two months has perplexed many investors, who remain befuddled by the market's insistence to look past conflict, tariffs and major challenges to the economic outlook, to make short work of recovering losses from their April lows.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
20 June 2025
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That wasn't enough to heal Carol's injury, however, leaving her owner perplexed about how to help the pup.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
Verb
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The bill, which Gov. Mike Kehoe is expected to sign and would begin Aug. 28, would overturn sick leave provisions included in a ballot measure that Missouri voters approved last year.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 July 2025
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But the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision last year.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
1 July 2025
Verb
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Lynskey says she’s been bewildered by the fans who’ve directed online vitriol at Shauna this season, while seemingly forgiving the sins of Shauna’s husband Jeff (Warren Cole) and the heinous crimes committed by Misty (Christina Ricci).—
Todd Longwell,
Variety,
2 June 2025
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Both were bewildered by this fashion design travesty.—
Sherry Kuehl,
Kansas City Star,
13 May 2025
Verb
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That terrifying consequence alone is sufficient to discredit the executive order.—
Bruce Fein,
Baltimore Sun,
30 June 2025
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And for that, I was met with silence, deflection, and efforts to discredit me.—
Stephanie Giang-Paunon,
FOXNews.com,
25 June 2025
Verb
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But Bird also throws a devastating slider to right-handers and a curveball that can baffle.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
28 June 2025
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The sheriff is as baffled as anyone else, wondering how anyone as recognizable as Roy could disappear in plain sight.—
Dateline NBC,
NBC news,
25 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confound.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confound. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.
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