confound

American  

[kon-found, kuhn-, kon-found] / kɒnˈfaʊnd, kən-, ˈkɒnˈfaʊnd /

verb (used with object)

1. to perplex or amaze, especially by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse.

   The complicated directions confounded him.

   Synonyms:

   nonplus, daze, dumbfound, astound

2. to throw into confusion or disorder.

   The revolution confounded the people.

3. to throw into increased confusion or disorder.

4. to treat or regard erroneously as identical; mix or associate by mistake.

   truth confounded with error.

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

6. to damn (used in mild imprecations).

   Confound it!

7. to contradict or refute.

   to confound their arguments.

8. to put to shame; abash.

9. Archaic.

   1. to defeat or overthrow.

   2. to bring to ruin or naught.

10. Obsolete. to spend uselessly; waste.

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confound British  

/ kənˈfaʊnd /

verb

1. to astound or perplex; bewilder

2. to mix up; confuse

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

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

5. to contradict or refute (an argument, etc)

6. to rout or defeat (an enemy)

7. obsolete to waste

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Other Word Forms

• confoundable adjective
• confounder noun
• interconfound verb (used with object)
• preconfound verb (used with object)
• unconfound verb (used with object)

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."

Example Sentences

Trump is a political survivor who has demonstrated a remarkable ability to confound conventional wisdom.

From Salon • Apr. 16, 2026

Customs and Border Protection deployed a counterdrone laser on what turned out to be party balloons, showed how they can confound air defenses.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 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

The first is Olympian, polymathic, erudite, antically funny, often beautiful, at times gross, at others incredibly romantic, never afraid to challenge or even confound, and unmistakably worked at.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 30, 2025

My breath has power, to confound and control.

From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell

Related Words

• amaze
• astonish
• astound
• baffle
• bewilder
• discombobulate
• dumbfound
• embarrass
• faze
• mystify
• perplex
• puzzle
• rattle
• startle
• surprise