confound

[kon-found, kuhn-, kon-found]

verb (used with object)

1. to perplex or amaze, especially by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse.

   The complicated directions confounded him.

   Synonyms: nonplus, daze, dumbfound, astound

2. to throw into confusion or disorder.

   The revolution confounded the people.

3. to throw into increased confusion or disorder.

4. to treat or regard erroneously as identical; mix or associate by mistake.

   truth confounded with error.

5. to mingle so that the elements cannot be distinguished or separated.

6. to damn (used in mild imprecations).

   Confound it!

7. to contradict or refute.

   to confound their arguments.

8. to put to shame; abash.

9. Archaic.

   1. to defeat or overthrow.

   2. to bring to ruin or naught.

10. Obsolete.,  to spend uselessly; waste.

confound

/ kənˈfaʊnd /

verb

1. to astound or perplex; bewilder

2. to mix up; confuse

3. to treat mistakenly as similar to or identical with (one or more other things)

4. to curse or damn (usually as an expletive in the phrase confound it! )

5. to contradict or refute (an argument, etc)

6. to rout or defeat (an enemy)

7. obsolete,  to waste

Other Word Forms

• confoundable adjective
• confounder noun
• interconfound verb (used with object)
• preconfound verb (used with object)
• unconfound verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of confound¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English conf(o)unden, from Anglo-French confoundre, from Latin confundere “to mix,” equivalent to con- con- + fundere “to pour”

Word History and Origins

Origin of confound¹

C13: from Old French confondre, from Latin confundere to mingle, pour together, from fundere to pour

Example Sentences

In what was a confounding series sweep to the Pirates at PNC Park, the Dodgers’ 5-3 defeat on Thursday was easiest to explain.

From Los Angeles Times

Golf is a game with few guarantees but Fleetwood, the Olympic silver medallist in Paris, has undoubtedly corrected a confounding anomaly with this victory.

From BBC

Or later, as he sought photographic evidence of the Mars canals: “We must secure some canals to confound the skeptics” — which, today, carries eerie echoes of “Find me the votes.”

From Los Angeles Times

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.

From Los Angeles Times

Such miscalculations point to another pitfall facing those who would dare to predict the future of Los Angeles: Change has come so rapidly that any prediction can be confounded within the lifetime of its author.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• amaze 
• astonish 
• astound 
• baffle 
• bewilder 
• discombobulate 
• dumbfound 
• embarrass 
• faze 
• mystify 
• perplex 
• puzzle 
• rattle 
• startle 
• surprise