as in perplexing
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of confounding
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
Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
To my eye, Zurek has almost tied up the loose ends that have been confounding physics for 100 years, without invoking any substantially new or speculative assumptions.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Feb. 2026
Hedda is a slippery, confounding protagonist, and Aurora Real de Asua takes on the role with quietly manic energy.
—Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
The 24-year-old had a confounding sophomore season.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
The verdict is confounding in some respects because the timing of the shooting and deaths was not in dispute at trial.
—Emerson Clarridge
updated February 6, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2026
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
No radiation from the sun, no confounding signals from Earth.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 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
Adjective
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
All of this makes Unspeakable Things a particular type of #MeToo memoir, one in which the accuser implicates herself—not as complicit in any assault or harassment, but as fully human, and sometimes confounding even to herself.
—Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2026
To my eye, Zurek has almost tied up the loose ends that have been confounding physics for 100 years, without invoking any substantially new or speculative assumptions.
—Quanta Magazine, 13 Feb. 2026
Hedda is a slippery, confounding protagonist, and Aurora Real de Asua takes on the role with quietly manic energy.
—Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2026
The 24-year-old had a confounding sophomore season.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
The verdict is confounding in some respects because the timing of the shooting and deaths was not in dispute at trial.
—Emerson Clarridge
updated February 6, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2026
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
No radiation from the sun, no confounding signals from Earth.
—IEEE Spectrum, 20 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confounding
Adjective
-
The oven was equally perplexing.—
Jason Fried,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2026
-
It’s been part of a perplexing trend this season for Peterson, who has missed 10 full games and notable portions of 10 others with nagging injuries.—
Justin Williams,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Georgia basketball’s matchup with Tennessee ended in baffling fashion Wednesday night.—
Olivia Sayer,
AJC.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
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
Verb
-
Fairchild played the free-wheeling bon vivant Nora Tyler Bing on five episodes of the sitcom classic, unwittingly embarrassing Perry's Chandler Bing to the delight of his pals.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
16 Feb. 2026
-
One day, Will goes viral after embarrassing ROAR league MVP, Mane Attraction (Aaron Pierre), during a streetball challenge, prompting his favorite team, the Vineland Thorns, to sign him to a season-ending contract in a desperate attempt to juice ticket sales.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The citizens of Texas are confusing hospitality for complacency.—
Eleanor Dearman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 Feb. 2026
-
Registration deadlines, confusing rules and inconsistent access make participation harder at the very moment young people become eligible to vote.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
But the company is refuting the claims.—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
-
On Tuesday, Cordero-Stutz’s office issued a statement refuting a recent school system memo that had said there was a deal for the Sheriff’s Office to help process outstanding bus-camera violations that had been issued before last year’s suspension but are currently stalled in court.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
New research suggests that dark matter, the universe's most puzzling and mysterious substance, may not exist.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The economy is in a puzzling place.—
Paul Wiseman,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Even a principled, well-meaning actor like Claude could face bewildering ethical conflicts.—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
-
And aren’t our real-life romantic complications bewildering enough?—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
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
-
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 20 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
