1
as in confuses
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
we were confounded by the player's remote control, which wasn't at all user-friendly
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in embarrasses
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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3
as in conflates
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 refutes
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 confounds
Since their vision is not pixel-precise, using web interfaces—which are dynamic, designed for humans, and often include captchas and other anti-bot measures—confounds them.
—
Tharin Pillay, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
Again, all of this confounds traditional attempts at sense making.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Tharin Pillay, Time, 4 Nov. 2025
Again, all of this confounds traditional attempts at sense making.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 4 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confounds
Verb
-
The Longhorns’ roster build confuses me.—
The Athletic College Basketball Staff,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
-
At her spring show, Marie-Adam Leenaerdt brought back the style, but her shiny spandex stocking version ensures no one confuses the look for child’s play.—
Laia Garcia-Furtado,
Vogue,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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And refutes this idea that dinosaurs were in decline before the asteroid struck.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
30 Oct. 2025
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Like Dunbar’s speakers, Hughes’s dispossessed have no way out, and the poem implicitly refutes optimism regarding the Great Migration and racial progress.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Helm topples trees, uproots crops, overturns feed stacks, steals loose blankets.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The ruling overturns only one of two lower court decisions to block the deployment of the National Guard in Portland, and because a second decision is still in force, troops can’t immediately be mobilized.—
Karina Tsui,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Nandi is experiencing severe insomnia, tremors and psychosis, and her quickly deteriorating condition bewilders the emergency room staff.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
21 Oct. 2025
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The designs were puckish and gender-bending, evoking both awe and repulsion—the sort of clothing that titillates lovers of conceptual fashion and bewilders the uninitiated.—
Ana Karina Zatarain,
New Yorker,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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What about him specifically bothers you especially in terms of poisoning the youth?—
Jayson Buford,
Rolling Stone,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Really, the accuracy is the one thing that bothers me with him.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Take the quiz here … DUGOUT SECRETS – Mysterious wooden canoe found after Hurricane Ian still baffles experts three years later.—
,
FOXNews.com,
8 Oct. 2025
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One case that still baffles is the macabre story of Virginia McCullough, who killed her parents for their money – and then lived with their bodies for four years.—
KC Baker,
People.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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While everyone else puzzles it over, Coe is already on his way to the multi-faith ceremony at Abbotsfield, where Mayor Jaffrey is joining other mourners to honor the 11 people killed in the assault that opened the season.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confounds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confounds. Accessed 27 Nov. 2025.
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