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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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
Jeff Howe, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
What is the most confounding and terrible, however, is Gretchen’s assertion that Slade, the anti-Viagra, doesn’t get involved with the women on his own accord, but only engages because the women always talk about him.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
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
Anjali Chaudhry, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Having Dalton Kincaid on the field for less than 40 percent of the snaps during the regular season was confounding for this exec.
—Mike Sando, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Khalil said that Baccarelli’s review and other small studies that have found such associations probably didn’t do enough to exclude confounding factors.
—Aria Bendix, NBC news, 16 Jan. 2026
The OpenSnow reporting and forecasting service is predicting four to eight additional inches at many resorts between Wednesday evening and Friday morning, although founding meteorologist Joel Gratz acknowledged that the weather models for this system have been a bit confounding.
—John Meyer, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Good luck trying to gift someone concert tickets; ticket services can be confounding.
—Jon Bream, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
The list of places to visit and people to meet grows ever longer, the pull of the Sonoran expanse confounding my oceanic island origins.
—Von Diaz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Dec. 2025
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine’s peculiar transformation from a consistently productive NFL receiver to a virtual non-factor in the Dolphins’ passing game has been one of the confounding mysteries of Miami’s season.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Dec. 2025
Chicago is currently mired in a miserable seven-game losing streak, a confounding skid that includes defeats against NBA bottom-feeders like the New Orleans Pelicans, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers, and Brooklyn Nets.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Adjective
The Eagles were a confounding defending champion throughout the regular season.
—Jeff Howe, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2026
What is the most confounding and terrible, however, is Gretchen’s assertion that Slade, the anti-Viagra, doesn’t get involved with the women on his own accord, but only engages because the women always talk about him.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025
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
At a time when climate change is an accelerating force reshaping economies, politics, societies, and lives, the lack of climate agenda is confounding.
—Anjali Chaudhry, Forbes.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Having Dalton Kincaid on the field for less than 40 percent of the snaps during the regular season was confounding for this exec.
—Mike Sando, New York Times, 19 Jan. 2026
Khalil said that Baccarelli’s review and other small studies that have found such associations probably didn’t do enough to exclude confounding factors.
—Aria Bendix, NBC news, 16 Jan. 2026
The OpenSnow reporting and forecasting service is predicting four to eight additional inches at many resorts between Wednesday evening and Friday morning, although founding meteorologist Joel Gratz acknowledged that the weather models for this system have been a bit confounding.
—John Meyer, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
Good luck trying to gift someone concert tickets; ticket services can be confounding.
—Jon Bream, Boston Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
The list of places to visit and people to meet grows ever longer, the pull of the Sonoran expanse confounding my oceanic island origins.
—Von Diaz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 11 Dec. 2025
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine’s peculiar transformation from a consistently productive NFL receiver to a virtual non-factor in the Dolphins’ passing game has been one of the confounding mysteries of Miami’s season.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Dec. 2025
Chicago is currently mired in a miserable seven-game losing streak, a confounding skid that includes defeats against NBA bottom-feeders like the New Orleans Pelicans, Charlotte Hornets, Indiana Pacers, and Brooklyn Nets.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confounding
Adjective
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The movie is hilarious, fun, disturbing, perplexing, exuberant, exhausting.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
12 Dec. 2025
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The canon can already be described as a bewildering artistic menagerie, including a perplexing assessment of misandrism, body horror by Brian Yuzna, killer toys from the ’90s, and more.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
11 Dec. 2025
Verb
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The pilot of a private jet reportedly made an eerie discovery while flying thousands of feet over Rhode Island, marking the latest in unexplained encounters baffling both experts and civilians alike.—
Julia Bonavita,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
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From financial wipeouts to baffling misreads of beloved source material, some of Hollywood’s most notorious flops began as video games.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Recently, Ryan spoke about the Beckham situation, the process of writing material as a mother without embarrassing her kids and her new goal of returning to the career trajectory of her pre-pregnant self in the near future.—
Deputy Entertainment,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Jan. 2026
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Some mushroom bills backfired when their true impacts became known, embarrassing legislators who voted for them, and forcing them to backtrack.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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For example, during a recent power outage in San Francisco, autonomous robotaxis got stuck at intersections, blocking emergency vehicles and confusing other drivers.—
Murugan Anandarajan,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
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The projectionist showed the second reel first, and as my grandfather said, the film was already confusing enough.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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An ancient giant kangaroo that lived in Australia 50,000 years ago likely hopped after all, refuting past research on the species, according to a new study.—
Julia Jacobo,
ABC News,
22 Jan. 2026
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In early 2023, Lachlan pleaded with Liz to issue a statement refuting a Financial Times article that said James would force him out upon Rupert’s death.—
Gabriel Sherman,
Vanity Fair,
14 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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And the most puzzling aspect of the loss was Carolina’s offense, which sputtered throughout a foggy afternoon.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
29 Dec. 2025
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For more than a decade, cosmology has been stuck with a puzzling contradiction.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Dec. 2025
Verb
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And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
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Its ginormous investments in higher-value, tech-heavy sectors from smartphones to autos to semiconductors to biotechnology are disrupting the global landscape at bewildering speed.—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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As the Alabama Crimson Tide prepare for the rival Auburn Tigers ahead of Saturday’s Iron Bowl, the team received a bit of disconcerting news.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Nov. 2025
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The code, though, is currently often replete with disconcerting troubles.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confounding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confounding. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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