confound

[ kon-found, kuhn-; for 6 usually kon-found ]

/ kɒnˈfaʊnd, kən-; for 6 usually ˈkɒnˈfaʊnd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR confound ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to perplex or amaze, especially by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse: The complicated directions confounded him.

to throw into confusion or disorder: The revolution confounded the people.

to throw into increased confusion or disorder.

to treat or regard erroneously as identical; mix or associate by mistake: truth confounded with error.

to mingle so that the elements cannot be distinguished or separated.

to damn (used in mild imprecations): Confound it!

to contradict or refute: to confound their arguments.

to put to shame; abash.

Archaic.

to defeat or overthrow.
to bring to ruin or naught.

Obsolete. to spend uselessly; waste.

Nearby words

Origin of confound

1250–1300; Middle English conf(o)unden < Anglo-French confoundre < Latin confundere to mix, equivalent to con- con- + fundere to pour

SYNONYMS FOR confound

1 dumbfound, daze, nonplus, astound.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR confound ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

con·found·a·ble, adjectivecon·found·er, nouncon·found·ing·ly, adverbin·ter·con·found, verb (used with object)

pre·con·found, verb (used with object)un·con·found, verb (used with object)un·con·found·ing, adjectiveun·con·found·ing·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for confound

The increase in recognition of autism spectrum disorders in Western countries continues to confound and confuse.
No, Stem Cells Don't Cause Autism|Kent Sepkowitz|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Yet, as a whole, the events that transpired between 1900 and 2000 B.C.E. still manage to confound the contemporary imagination.
History Broke Us: One Jewish Family’s 20th Century|James McAuley|November 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He may be an exception, but his example proves that grace can confound the expectations and machinations of curial politics.
The Catholic Church Is Insular and Intolerant|Robert Shrum|March 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
To complicate and confound matters further, North Korea has done more than simply throw grenades.
Leslie H. Gelb: North Korea, U.S. Headed to Brink of War, Unnoticed|Leslie H. Gelb|April 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST

To confound the problem, there has not been a UN human rights monitor in Iran since 2002.
Iran's Execution Binge|Omid Memarian, Roja Heydarpour|February 5, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Indeed the words ‘confound the fellow’ were in the minds of the three men.
The Disentanglers|Andrew Lang
We have Pezizæ with a subiculum in the section Tapesia, but the veriest tyro would not confound them with species of Parmelia.
Fungi: Their Nature and Uses|Mordecai Cubitt Cooke
Everything there assumes gigantic proportions, which startle the imagination and confound the reason.
The Prairie Flower|Gustave Aimard
We should be indignant: we should say, confound their impudence: we should turn them out of doors if they did.
The Virginians|William Makepeace Thackeray
There are many persons who confound this with the third theatre, erected by Douglas.
Foot-prints of a letter carrier|James Rees

British Dictionary definitions for confound

confound

/ (kənˈfaʊnd) /

verb (tr)

to astound or perplex; bewilder

to mix up; confuse

to treat mistakenly as similar to or identical with (one or more other things)

(kɒnˈfaʊnd) to curse or damn (usually as an expletive in the phrase confound it!)

to contradict or refute (an argument, etc)

to rout or defeat (an enemy)

obsolete to waste

Derived Formsconfoundable, adjectiveconfounder, noun

Word Origin for confound

C13: from Old French confondre, from Latin confundere to mingle, pour together, from fundere to pour

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

Word Origin and History for confound

confound

c.1300, "make uneasy, abash," from Anglo-French confoundre, Old French confondre (12c.) "crush, ruin, disgrace, throw into disorder," from Latin confundere "to confuse," literally "to pour together, mix, mingle," from com- "together" (see com-) + fundere "to pour" (see found (v.2)).

The figurative sense of "confuse, fail to distinguish, mix up" emerged in Latin, passed into French and thence into Middle English, where it is mostly found in Scripture; the sense of "destroy utterly" is recorded in English from c.1300. Meaning "perplex" is late 14c. The Latin past participle confusus, meanwhile, became confused (q.v.).