confound

verb

con·​found kən-ˈfau̇nd How to pronounce confound (audio)
kän-
confounded; confounding; confounds
Synonyms of confoundnext

transitive verb

1
: to throw (a person) into confusion or perplexity
tactics to confound the enemy
2
a
: refute
sought to confound his arguments
b
: to put to shame : discomfit
a performance that confounded the critics
3
: damn
4
a
: to fail to discern differences between : mix up
They implored Charles not to confound the innocent with the guilty …— T. B. Macaulay
b
: to increase the confusion of
5
a
: baffle, frustrate
Conferences … are not for accomplishment but to confound knavish tricks.— John Kenneth Galbraith
b
archaic : to bring to ruin : destroy
6
obsolete : consume, waste
confounder
kən-ˈfau̇n-dər How to pronounce confound (audio)
kän-
noun
confoundingly
kən-ˈfau̇n-diŋ-lē How to pronounce confound (audio)
kän-
adverb

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus
Choose the Right Synonym for confound

puzzle, perplex, bewilder, distract, nonplus, confound, dumbfound mean to baffle and disturb mentally.

puzzle implies existence of a problem difficult to solve.

the persistent fever puzzled the doctor

perplex adds a suggestion of worry and uncertainty especially about making a necessary decision.

a behavior that perplexed her friends

bewilder stresses a confusion of mind that hampers clear and decisive thinking.

a bewildering number of possibilities

distract implies agitation or uncertainty induced by conflicting preoccupations or interests.

distracted by personal problems

nonplus implies a bafflement that makes orderly planning or deciding impossible.

the remark left us utterly nonplussed

confound implies temporary mental paralysis caused by astonishment or profound abasement.

the tragic news confounded us all

dumbfound suggests intense but momentary confounding; often the idea of astonishment is so stressed that it becomes a near synonym of astound.

was at first too dumbfounded to reply

Examples of confound in a Sentence

The strategy confounded our opponents. The murder case has confounded investigators. The school's team confounded all predictions and won the game. The success of the show confounded critics.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Similarly, there could be a number of confounding reasons why those who drank grape juice just happened to be less likely to experience erectile dysfunction. — Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 15 Mar. 2025 Researchers controlled for confounding factors including age, body mass index (BMI), physical activity, smoking and alcohol consumption, and history of high blood pressure or high cholesterol. — Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 10 Mar. 2025 That’s partly down to $64 billion in American military assistance and $66 billion provided by all other countries combined, fueling Ukraine’s fighting spirit that confounded predictions of swift Russian victory. — Artem Grudinin, NBC News, 6 Mar. 2025 Her choice to wear a French fashion house could be seen as a confounding, given the theme of the night was to champion American businesses. — Christian Allaire, Vogue, 5 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for confound

Word History

Etymology

Middle English confounden "to defeat, destroy, frustrate, bewilder," borrowed from Anglo-French confondre, going back to Latin confundere "to pour together, blend, bring into disorder, destroy, disconcert," from con- con- + fundere "to pour, shed" — more at found entry 5

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 5b

Time Traveler
The first known use of confound was in the 14th century

Rhymes for confound

See All Rhymes for confound

Browse Nearby Words

confound
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Confound.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/confound. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

confound

verb
con·​found kən-ˈfau̇nd How to pronounce confound (audio)
kän-
1
: damn entry 1 sense 1
2
: to throw into disorder : mix up : confuse
our clever tactics confounded our opponents
confoundedly adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on confound

Nglish: Translation of confound for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All