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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confound
Verb
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No one was going to confuse Colossal with the Sierra Club.—
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Few foods confuse foreign visitors quite like brunost, Norwegian brown cheese.—
Verb
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Mariah Carey just pulled a classic mom move by embarrassing her teenage son in front of his friends.—
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The leaking was intended to embarrass Bork, whose nomination was ultimately rejected by the U.S. Senate albeit for reasons unrelated to his rental list.—
Verb
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Trump’s own Social Security chief eventually refuted the claim.—
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His lawyers refute the charges and argue no crimes have been committed that violate his visa.—
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.—
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Some were perplexed by its location, while others were enchanted by the simplistic nature of a home from a time long gone.—
Verb
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The decision overturned a lower court ruling that had required their reinstatement, supporting Trump's efforts to downsize the federal workforce.—
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He was released after a court overturned his 40-year sentence for the kidnapping and killing of Camarena.—
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.—
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While some stars dazzle in their glamorous attire, others have stumbled into the realm of fashion faux pas, leaving audiences bewildered.—
Verb
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His tariffs were not based on the import taxes charged by other countries but by the size of each trade deficit, a calculation that instantly discredited the policy with many economists and investors.—
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Bolsonaro’s efforts to discredit the election had already found allies abroad.—
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.—
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President Donald Trump’s mass tariffs have baffled Americans, creating uncertainty for the average consumer, according to industry leaders.—
Cite this Entry
“Confound.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confound. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.
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