conflate

American

[kuhn-fleyt] / kənˈfleɪt /

verb (used with object)

conflated, conflating

to fuse into one entity; merge.

to conflate dissenting voices into one protest.

conflate British

/ kənˈfleɪt /

verb

(tr) to combine or blend (two things, esp two versions of a text) so as to form a whole

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

conflation noun

Etymology

Origin of conflate

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin conflātus “fused together,” past participle of conflāre “to fuse together,” from con- con- + flāre “to blow” ( blow ² )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

You see this sort of language used when people conflate various definitions of globalism.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

It’s easy to conflate this with laziness or thoughtlessness.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 30, 2026

It does us no favors to conflate the important gains in racial progress among Gen Z with the real evidence of the impact of the manosphere and red-pill communities.

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026

I think that’s one of the reasons why no one’s really wanted to touch this issue for this age group because they conflate it with the Middle East.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2025

In order to present the Táin in its completest form, however, I have adopted the novel plan of incorporating in the LL. account the translations of what are known as conflate readings.

From The Ancient Irish Epic Tale Táin Bó Cúalnge by Dunn, Joseph

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023