confound
Americanverb (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.
verb
-
to astound or perplex; bewilder
-
to mix up; confuse
-
to treat mistakenly as similar to or identical with (one or more other things)
-
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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
confoundernoun
-
interconfoundverb (used with object)
-
preconfoundverb (used with object)
-
unconfoundverb (used with object)
-
confoundableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
confoundsimple
-
confoundssimple
-
have confoundedperfect
-
has confoundedperfect
-
am confoundingprogressive
-
are confoundingprogressive
-
is confoundingprogressive
-
have been confoundingperfect progressive
-
has been confoundingperfect progressive
Past
-
confoundedsimple
-
had confoundedperfect
-
was confoundingprogressive
-
were confoundingprogressive
-
had been confoundingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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”
Explanation
If you have an identical twin, you've probably tried dressing alike so that people confound you with, or mistake you for, one another. You've also probably learned that, unfortunately, this trick doesn’t work on your mom. The verb confound means both "to mistake" and "to confuse." If you decide to treat yourself to a delicious dessert, you might find yourself confounded by the overwhelming number of choices. If you end up ordering the chocolate cake but the waiter brings you chocolate mousse, the waiter has somehow confounded those two options. Another meaning you may come across in literature is "to damn," as in "Confound it! You are the most exasperating person on the planet."
Vocabulary lists containing confound
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Common Sense," Vocabulary from the pamphlet
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Common Sense
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
But adding Alphabet won’t save the Dow from its other shortcomings, and the blue-chip index’s enduring popularity continues to confound me.
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
Points, too, for the solid casting, from the leads’ tricky pivoting from openness to caginess, to the criminally underseen Wasikowska, who navigates maternal complexities of worry and compassion that confound easy pigeonholing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
“The launch of the Luce, Ferrari’s first electric car, on 25 May may well confound some sceptics as well.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Eli Carter and Martin Tobias suggest that a reversion to negative equity- bond correlations could confound expectations in 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 22, 2025
Either she doesn't want to confound the jury, or she has no more idea than I have why Sam Westing had to play two roles.
From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin
“We found that even after getting rid of these confounds, people still claimed early.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 16, 2026
“To be dead honest it confounds me,” said Jillian Michaels, the trainer turned podcaster, famous for her role on the reality TV show “Biggest Loser.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
“You're asking people in different age brackets, which confounds the entire thing, right?”
From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2024
That some people return to afflicted areas is just one factor that confounds population mobility models -- in actual fact, people may move between locations, sometimes multiple times.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 3, 2024
It confounds me when people don’t assist or even welcome those on their own team.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
Raw milk’s success confounded me: How had it gained such a foothold in this country, despite regular outbreaks of salmonella and E. coli, and even the discovery of bird flu in Raw Farm’s milk?
From Salon ● Jun. 22, 2026
The global energy state of play 100 days into the worst supply shock in modern history has confounded analysts and investors alike.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
"When I see some of that footage back, I'm still as confounded as I was even as a 19-year-old," she said.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
He’s merely one of 347 biologists that Eva assigned to solve the case, so he’s confounded to be in this lonely predicament.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026
“What a confounded nuisance,” said Maxim, “that cupid is worth a hell of a lot. How I loathe servants’ rows too.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
Because Golding’s account of his death was so deliberately confounding, I wasn’t sure what happened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
This approach was designed to reduce bias and account for potential confounding factors.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 6, 2026
Donald Trump trades stocks at a confounding rate, Everlane is reportedly sold to Shein, and online media is succumbing to bots.
From Slate ● May 23, 2026
Eli An analyst noted thin details and potential confounding factors.
From Barron's ● May 4, 2026
The young, photogenic Yale-, Oxford-, and Harvard-educated lawyer had learned just how confounding the problems of urban America were.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
