confound
Americanverb (used with object)
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to perplex or amaze, especially by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse.
The complicated directions confounded him.
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to throw into confusion or disorder.
The revolution confounded the people.
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to throw into increased confusion or disorder.
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to treat or regard erroneously as identical; mix or associate by mistake.
truth confounded with error.
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to mingle so that the elements cannot be distinguished or separated.
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to damn (used in mild imprecations).
Confound it!
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to contradict or refute.
to confound their arguments.
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to put to shame; abash.
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Archaic.
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to defeat or overthrow.
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to bring to ruin or naught.
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Obsolete. to spend uselessly; waste.
verb
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to astound or perplex; bewilder
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to mix up; confuse
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to treat mistakenly as similar to or identical with (one or more other things)
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to curse or damn (usually as an expletive in the phrase confound it! )
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to contradict or refute (an argument, etc)
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to rout or defeat (an enemy)
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obsolete to waste
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”
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.
My breath has power, to confound and control.
From Literature
Those experiences helped pave the way for Coinbase, which set about to solve a problem that confounded those eager to invest in cryptocurrencies: There was no place for people to store their digital assets.
Such confounding and mediating factors undermine the plaintiffs’ claims of causation.
Where to watch: Peacock Nominated for: Visual effects What we said: “‘Rebirth’ is a confounding title for a downbeat entry that’s mostly preoccupied by death and neglect.”
From Los Angeles Times
As I reported earlier, however, their efforts to tell it like it is were confounded by their own ignorance.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
