confounding

American

[kon-foun-ding, kuhn-] / kɒnˈfaʊn dɪŋ, kən- /

adjective

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

confoundingly adverb
unconfounding adjective
unconfoundingly adverb

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.

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

The evidence on the shingles vaccine and dementia comes from the equivalent of a gold-standard natural experiment where the influence of such confounding variables has been minimized, he says.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 7, 2026

Hughes’ script supplies Andie with a fount of vivacious wit and self-assurance, which is what makes watching her dull her shine as the film progresses so confounding.

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2026

Those involved in the Guthrie case say they are just trying to help solve the what has been a confounding case.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

The best chance of avoiding and confounding the beasts that lie below is to be as unpredictable as the sea and sky.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023