Confound

/kənˈfaʊnd/ · verb

Meaning

To perplex or puzzle..

Definitions by Sense

1. To perplex or puzzle.
2. To stun or amaze.
3. To fail to see the difference; to mix up; to confuse right and wrong.
4. (sometimes proscribed) To make something worse.
5. To combine in a confused fashion; to mingle so as to make the parts indistinguishable.
6. To cause to be ashamed; to abash.
7. To defeat, to frustrate, to thwart.
8. (dated) To damn (a mild oath).

Example Sentences

And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not understand our words.

The fightback when it came was in the [Roger] Federer fashion: unfussy, filled with classy strokes from the back with perfectly timed interventions at the net that confounded his opponent. The third set passed in a bit of a blur, the fourth, which led to the second tie-break, was the most dramatic of the match.

They vvho leſſe ſeriouſly conſider the force of vvords, doe ſometimes confound Lavv vvith Counſell, ſometimes vvith Covenant, ſometimes vvith Right. They confound Lavv vvith Counſel, vvho think, that it is the duty of Monarchs not onely to give ear to their Counſellours, but alſo to obey them, as though it vvere in vaine to take Counſell, unleſſe it vvere alſo follovved.

Don't confound the situation by yelling.

While she had obeyed him, smiling sweetly all the time, she had nursed a growing resentment of what she called his "Latin American macho attitude." To confound the problem, his mother, who lived with them on and off, was described by the wife as being as domineering as her son.

There the freſh and ſalt water would meete and be confounded together, […]

Medication and lifestyle factors significantly confound the association with obesity, for which there are few prospective studies and weak evidence for a directly causal relationship, while the association with traumatic brain injury is potentially confounded by ‘accident proneness’ or physical abuse.

His actions confounded the skeptics.

Synonyms for confound

Antonyms for confound

Related Words

Word Forms

• confounds
• confounding
• confounded

Usage Notes

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