1
as in to confuse
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
we were confounded by the player's remote control, which wasn't at all user-friendly
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to embarrass
to throw into a state of self-conscious distress
his renewed popularity has confounded the critics who said his singing career was dead
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3
as in to conflate
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
I think you've confounded astrology with astronomy
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4
as in to refute
to prove to be false
new discoveries that confound much of what archaeologists thought they knew about the Mayan civilization
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confound
This approach delivers data with the highest possible direct comparability and the minimum of confounding effects from things like shadows.
—
Elizabeth Duffy, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
The Trump administration last Saturday touted logging as the next frontier in job creation and wildfire prevention, but those goals will face confounding challenges.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2025
Supermassive: Black Holes at the Beginning and End of the Universe
Black holes, demystified: follow along the quest to understand the history and influence of one of space science's most fascinating and confounding phenomena
Where do black holes come from?
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Mar. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for confound
Elizabeth Duffy, Forbes, 11 Mar. 2025
The Trump administration last Saturday touted logging as the next frontier in job creation and wildfire prevention, but those goals will face confounding challenges.
—Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2025
Supermassive: Black Holes at the Beginning and End of the Universe
Black holes, demystified: follow along the quest to understand the history and influence of one of space science's most fascinating and confounding phenomena
Where do black holes come from?
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Mar. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for confound
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confound
Verb
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No one was going to confuse Colossal with the Sierra Club.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
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Let go of a common misconception Some parents worry that teaching their child multiple languages will set them back or confuse them.—
Julia Furlan,
NPR,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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But the medical-looking royal blue bottles of nicotine lozenges embarrassed her.—
Will Yakowicz,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
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Many of them had to fail, repeat, embarrass themselves, risk everything, and learn.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
23 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trump’s own Social Security chief eventually refuted the claim.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2025
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His lawyers refute the charges and argue no crimes have been committed that violate his visa.—
Anna Spiegel,
Axios,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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And some Democrats are still perplexed by the fact that last November Donald Trump became the first Republican since maybe Abraham Lincoln to carry Fall River.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
26 Mar. 2025
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Dahl was especially perplexed by the response to Evans’s fall.—
Ronan Farrow,
The New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Missouri banned almost all abortions in 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe.—
Summer Ballentine,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2025
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Endangerment would require overturning a U.S. Supreme Court decision.—
Jan Ellen Spiegel,
Hartford Courant,
28 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This match exposed a couple of ugly issues the tour has to address and left spectators bewildered for long stretches at a time.—
Todd Boss,
Forbes,
25 Feb. 2025
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The terminations, which were part of a broader push to cut federal bureaucracy and spending, have left federal workers bewildered and worried about the future of public lands.—
Alicia Victoria Lozano,
NBC News,
21 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Influencers and consumers alike took to platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to discredit the brand and show their support for competitors such as Olipop.—
John Hall,
Forbes.com,
30 Mar. 2025
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Roberts had been a judge for only about two years when he was nominated for the Supreme Court, so his judicial record was quite thin, and some Democrats and their allies hoped to point to his work as a lawyer to discredit him.—
Ian Millhiser,
Vox,
29 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Two endangered whales are baffling researchers by continuing to show up along a stretch of U.S coast that is not part of their turf, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
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The haphazard cuts to major projects in red states like Ohio baffled some stakeholders.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confound.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confound. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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