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.
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 study is cross-sectional, which means it cannot determine cause and effect and may be influenced by confounding factors or reverse causation.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 13, 2026
Playing a confounding, cantankerous old painter who hasn’t touched a canvas in at least 20 years, Mr. McKellen delivers yet another marvelous late-career highlight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
The paradigm was simple enough to make their behavior confounding: Good/Bad.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
