as in perplexing
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1
as in baffling
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in embarrassing
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 confusing
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 refuting
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 confounding
Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Tuesday will go down as one of Boston’s most confounding losses of the season, a 4-3 defeat in 11 innings to the Baltimore Orioles in which the club went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2025
Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Those outlooks have grappled with a confounding mixture of warm ocean temperatures (which can feed hurricane activity) and a brewing El Niño (which can suppress hurricane activity in the Atlantic).
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Meanwhile, King was confounding Dodgers hitters just as badly.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 May 2026
Asghar Farhadi’s confounding new film, Parallel Tales, takes place in a pair of apartments located across the street from each other in the 10th Arrondissement of Paris.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 May 2026
Putting his legal woes aside, Jackson’s life outside of performing was often bizarre and confounding, making for potentially intriguing scenes.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026
Following those highs came a string of solid but unexciting records, which mostly stuck with Metric’s formula while adding the occasional left-field lyric about the Kool-Aid-drinking masses or confounding reference to QAnon.
—Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 4 May 2026
Oettinger, 27, is another confounding case.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 May 2026
The pair combine their talents to unravel crime mysteries, confounding and surprising one another along the way, in classic odd couple style.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 29 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Grief is one of the most confounding aspects of the human experience.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
In 2021, one year into D’Amaro’s tenure and following COVID shutdowns, Disney did away with FastPass and introduced a confounding and very costly series of pay-to-skip passes, which require timing advanced booking of limited slots in these formerly free-to-enter shorter lines.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 5 Feb. 2026
The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
Tuesday will go down as one of Boston’s most confounding losses of the season, a 4-3 defeat in 11 innings to the Baltimore Orioles in which the club went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2025
Verb
But the Giants’ general manager, Zack Minasian, seemed to go out of his way to pinpoint the blame for the confounding Eldridge plan on the team’s rookie manager, even as scrutiny about the plan grows.
—Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 26 May 2026
Those outlooks have grappled with a confounding mixture of warm ocean temperatures (which can feed hurricane activity) and a brewing El Niño (which can suppress hurricane activity in the Atlantic).
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 20 May 2026
Meanwhile, King was confounding Dodgers hitters just as badly.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 May 2026
Asghar Farhadi’s confounding new film, Parallel Tales, takes place in a pair of apartments located across the street from each other in the 10th Arrondissement of Paris.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 15 May 2026
Putting his legal woes aside, Jackson’s life outside of performing was often bizarre and confounding, making for potentially intriguing scenes.
—Chris Murphy, Vanity Fair, 12 May 2026
Following those highs came a string of solid but unexciting records, which mostly stuck with Metric’s formula while adding the occasional left-field lyric about the Kool-Aid-drinking masses or confounding reference to QAnon.
—Ethan Beck, Pitchfork, 4 May 2026
Oettinger, 27, is another confounding case.
—Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 May 2026
The pair combine their talents to unravel crime mysteries, confounding and surprising one another along the way, in classic odd couple style.
—Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confounding
Adjective
-
What might motivate Rozier to take part in such as scheme is perplexing.—
Steve Henson,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2026
-
The right-hander has struggled to maintain his velocity this season, a perplexing trend largely stemming from an inconsistency in his mechanics.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
15 May 2026
Verb
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The slow starts are baffling to Becht.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
4 May 2026
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As the castle’s internal order collapses under the weight of a string of baffling crimes, Araki strikes a fragile alliance with Kuroda Kanbei – a razor-minded captive languishing in his own dungeon – in a race to root out a traitor before Oda’s army closes in.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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To be sweating on the results of others and nervously looking over their shoulder — and from fifth place — at this stage of a season is embarrassing enough for Liverpool.—
Gregg Evans,
New York Times,
20 May 2026
-
Lutnick's voluntary closed-door interview comes amid a monthslong procession of powerful people summoned before the committee, many of whom have been subjected to embarrassing revelations in the more than 3 million pages of records known as the Epstein files.—
Graham Kates,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
Stop confusing busy with productive Founders in the struggle zone are busy.—
Jodie Cook,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
-
Schoen’s contract extension is confusing at best.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
22 May 2026
Verb
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Anne Hathaway is refuting online speculation over whether she's had a facelift.—
Sharareh Drury,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 May 2026
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King’s break with Johnson was not about refuting his historic contributions.—
Mark Conway,
Baltimore Sun,
9 May 2026
Adjective
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The puzzling ‘Beefcake’ fossil For Zietlow, Tylosaurus rex’s origin story began in 2020 in New York City.—
Mindy Weisberger,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
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Lugging one of the least productive offenses in the American League, no doubt the Royals would like to get to that same place about Caglianone — who after a puzzling day off Sunday had two doubles in KC’s 3-1 loss to Boston on Monday at Kauffman Stadium.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
19 May 2026
Verb
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But even more than engaging the big ideas that Emma’s revelation triggers — pun somewhat intended — Lee and Borli wanted to craft an experience that would mimic its main characters’ bewildering interiority.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
6 Apr. 2026
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There aren’t many ways to earn a club’s first win better than bewildering the league’s defending champions at their place.—
Braidon Nourse,
Denver Post,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This imbalance is perhaps not expressly disconcerting much of the time.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
-
There was also some disconcerting history to consider.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Confounding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confounding. Accessed 1 Jun. 2026.
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