confound

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

/ kɒnˈfaʊnd, kən-; for 6 usually ˈkɒnˈfaʊnd /

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See synonyms for: confound / confounded / confounding 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR confound

1 dumbfound, daze, nonplus, astound.

See synonyms for confound on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of confound

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conf(o)unden, from Anglo-French confoundre, from Latin confundere “to mix,” equivalent to con- con- + fundere “to pour”

OTHER WORDS FROM confound

con·found·a·ble, adjectivecon·found·er, nounin·ter·con·found, verb (used with object)pre·con·found, verb (used with object)

un·con·found, verb (used with object)

Words nearby confound

conformance, conformation, conformational analysis, conformist, conformity, confound, confounded, confounding, confraternity, confrere, confront

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use confound in a sentence

One thing Kaleido has been careful to demonstrate — and it’s sad to think that this is a differentiator — is that its products work with people whose skin tone and hair confound other solutions.
Kaleido’s Unscreen is dead simple drag-and-drop background removal for video|Devin Coldewey|October 2, 2020|TechCrunch
That framing puts the wellbeing of business over the wellbeing of people, to already confounding results.
Is the Government Just Going to Watch the Restaurant Industry Die?|Elazar Sontag|August 28, 2020|Eater
We’ve bought into the fiction that the management structures and systems that confound and constrain us can be amended only by those at the top of the pyramid, or by their appointees in HR, planning, finance, and legal.
How to break free of bureaucracy in the workplace|Michele Zanini|August 17, 2020|Quartz
Bamboozle is one of those words that has been confounding etymologists for centuries.
What Is The Origin Of The Word “Bamboozle”?|Brigid Walsh|July 26, 2020|Everything After Z

Samuel Scarpino, a professor at Northeastern University who studies infectious diseases, said that it can be very difficult, even in a sophisticated model, to separate all of the confounding factors that could be at play, like geography.
Republicans And Democrats See COVID-19 Very Differently. Is That Making People Sick?|Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux|July 23, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
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
Patriarchy is powerful, but it is also fragile, and transgender people confound its simple dichotomies.
Southern Baptist Convention: Trans People Don’t Exist|Jay Michaelson|June 12, 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
“Confound it, no;” rejoined Mr. Simmery, stopping for an instant to smash a fly with the ruler.
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club, v. 2(of 2)|Charles Dickens
Then confound your slow coaches down here; thats all, said the doctor, walking away.
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3)|Charles Dickens
Weld is a totally distinct word from woad, but most dictionaries confound them.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer
These proverbs remind us of Bacon: "Specious words confound virtue."
Beacon Lights of History, Volume I|John Lord
What has happened between you and the communiers, whom may the pest carry off and hell confound!
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman|Eugne Sue

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 forms of confound

confoundable, 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

confound

OTHER WORDS FOR confound

Origin of confound

OTHER WORDS FROM confound

Words nearby confound

Words related to confound

How to use confound in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for confound

Derived forms of confound

Word Origin for confound