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confound

verb

Synonyms and Antonyms of confound

1 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 of confound

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
Words Related to confound

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
Phrases Synonymous with confound

blow one's mind, go to one's head
Near Antonyms of confound

assure, reassure, satisfy

enlighten, inform

2 to throw into a state of self-conscious distress

  • his renewed popularity has confounded the critics who said his singing career was dead
Synonyms of confound

abash, confuse, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle
Words Related to confound

agitate, bother, chagrin, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturb, perturb, put off, put out, unhinge, unsettle, upset

debase, degrade, demean, humble, humiliate, queer, shame
Near Antonyms of confound

calm, comfort, console, relieve, soothe

buoy, cheer, embolden, encourage, hearten

assure, reassure

3 to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related

  • I think you've confounded astrology with astronomy
Synonyms of confound

conflate, confuse, mistake, mix (up)
Words Related to confound

lump (together)

misapply, miscall, misidentify, misname
Antonyms of confound

difference, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, separate

4 to prove to be false

  • new discoveries that confound much of what archaeologists thought they knew about the Mayan civilization
Synonyms of confound

belie, confute, debunk, disconfirm, discredit, disprove, falsify, rebut, refute, shoot down
Words Related to confound

overthrow, overturn

challenge, contest, query, question

doubt, mistrust

debate, discuss, hash (over), moot, talk over
Phrases Synonymous with confound

give the lie to
Near Antonyms of confound

document, evidence, evince, record, show, support, witness

back (up), buttress, corroborate, substantiate

adduce, attest, authenticate, certify, identify

demonstrate, display, illustrate, manifest
Antonyms of confound

confirm, establish, prove, validate, verify

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

Learn More about confound

  1. See words that rhyme with confound Dictionary: Definition of 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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