- present participle of confound.
confounding
Americanadjective
-
perplexing or bewildering.
He’s hosting an evening of readings from some of the most sensational and confounding cases of Sherlock Holmes.
-
throwing someone or something into confusion or disorder.
Still in shock, his wife broke the confounding news that their only son had been killed by a stray bullet.
-
Statistics. interacting with both the dependent and independent variables in an experiment or study, making it impossible to determine a causal effect between them.
The authors list potential confounding factors, but it is not clear from the paper whether all of these were controlled for in the analyses.
noun
-
the act of perplexing, bewildering, causing confusion or disorder, etc..
The Jaredite civilization is supposed to have formed in the wake of the miraculous confounding of languages at the Tower of Babel.
-
the act of treating or viewing different things as if they were the same.
I have always found the confounding of Christmas and Hanukkah disturbing.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of confounding
First recorded in 1425–75; confound ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; confound ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun senses
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.
Confounding this already problematic directive is that most TFU followers are women and identify as heterosexual.
From Salon • Nov. 11, 2023
Confounding the picture is evidence that coffee drinking and smoking are protective against Parkinson’s, although experts don’t know why, and these habits don’t seem related to the gender gap, they say.
From Washington Post • Jul. 2, 2021
Confounding the matter are scores of tests that hit the U.S. market after the Food and Drug Administration allowed companies to sell their products following self-certification of their accuracy.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2020
Confounding expectations on all sides of the Persian Gulf, the attack and its aftermath have laid bare a cascade of revelations about the regional balance of power.
From New York Times • Sep. 19, 2019
Then shall be roaring and warring And ferment of sea and firth, Ocean, in turmoil upboiling, Confounding each bound of earth.
From A Celtic Psaltery by Graves, Alfred Perceval
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.
