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. kɒnˈfaʊnd 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

Derived Forms

• conˈfounder, noun
• conˈfoundable, adjective

Other Words From

• con·found·a·ble adjective
• con·found·er noun
• in·ter·con·found verb (used with object)
• pre·con·found verb (used with object)
• un·con·found 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

That hope wavered and wobbled throughout a 28-20 win over Nebraska, as USC’s new quarterback looked equally dynamic and confounding at different junctures.

From Los Angeles Times

The work, which had its New York premiere on Thursday and repeats on Saturday, is capacious, confounding, cathartic.

From New York Times

The forms of power that art creates, and the ones it so often leaves us without, confound and obsess me.

From Salon

The fact that such a violent crime could occur in one of the Netherlands' busiest nightspots without witnesses coming forward continues to confound investigators.

From BBC

They scored five times in a fifth-inning rally fueled by shockingly poor Yankees defense, including a dropped line drive in center field from Aaron Judge and Gerrit Cole’s confounding decision to not cover first base.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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