confounded

[kon-foun-did, kuhn-]

adjective

1. bewildered; confused; perplexed.

2. damned (used euphemistically).

   That is a confounded lie.

   Synonyms: objectionable, execrable, damnable

confounded

/ kənˈfaʊndɪd /

adjective

1. bewildered; confused

2. informal,  (prenominal) execrable; damned

Other Word Forms

• confoundedly adverb
• confoundedness noun
• unconfoundedly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of confounded¹

First recorded in Middle English; confound, -ed ²

Example Sentences

Set in Maycomb, it sees two siblings, clearly Lee and her older sister Alice, confounded by her sister's black gardener Arthur, who's from the North but has apparently decided to work in the segregationist South.

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The waters of the north Pacific have had their warmest summer on record, according to BBC analysis of a mysterious marine heatwave that has confounded climate scientists.

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It’s stiff karaoke that earns a confounded polite clap.

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The album is also a recognition that while heartbreak has confounded poets since the beginning of time, it remains an unknown.

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It makes me think about who I am, especially as I grow older, as I become both more attuned to and confounded by who it is I think I am.

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Related Words

• confused 
• perplexed