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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to conflate
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related
I think you've confounded astrology with astronomy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of confound
Trapped: Mind-Altering Shorts Date & Venue TBA Tap into the collective unconscious of a rogue’s gallery of grifters, hermits, and sociopaths with our infamous showcase of gloriously confounding cinematic curios.
—
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 12 May 2025
Last year, Atlanta confounded the rest of the league by drafting Michael Penix Jr.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2025
Now, Spoelstra will spend his summer overanalyzing every little detail to try to solve this confounding onslaught.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
For a show that delivers confounding non sequiturs on the regular (Corporate goat farm?
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for confound
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 12 May 2025
Last year, Atlanta confounded the rest of the league by drafting Michael Penix Jr.
—Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 30 Apr. 2025
Now, Spoelstra will spend his summer overanalyzing every little detail to try to solve this confounding onslaught.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
For a show that delivers confounding non sequiturs on the regular (Corporate goat farm?
—The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 24 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for confound
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confound
Verb
-
Also, this word et cetera at the end of the sentence confused me.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
26 May 2025
-
Weir was confused by the man’s unusual conviction, though.—
Louise Erdrich,
New Yorker,
25 May 2025
Verb
-
Johnson’s predecessor, Larry Robinson, resigned last year amid fallout from a fake $237 million donation scandal that embarrassed the school on the national stage.—
Garrett Shanley,
Miami Herald,
17 May 2025
-
What’s made the 18th so fun this week is its ability — even for just a second — to embarrass the best golfers on the planet.—
Jordan Kaye,
Charlotte Observer,
17 May 2025
Verb
-
But defense attorney Getting never called his own fire expert to refute any of that.—
Erin Moriarty,
CBS News,
20 May 2025
-
But rather than refute Mische’s analysis, the administration has been planting suggestions that Mische is employed by Saudi Arabia, even though his advice to that nation ended years ago.—
Dan Walters,
Mercury News,
20 May 2025
Verb
-
Many observers were perplexed that an eighty-two-year-old man with virtually unlimited access to medical care—and about whose health there has been virtually unlimited conjecture—could have gone undiagnosed until the cancer threatened his life.—
Dhruv Khullar,
New Yorker,
22 May 2025
-
Social-media users were undoubtedly perplexed by the bone discovery, leading to more than 860 comments on the Instagram video.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
Verb
-
Foreign universities want to hire them May 25, 2025 The suit also seeks to overturn the Trump administration’s 15% cap on indirect costs related to research, which universities say are critical to carrying out their work.—
Howard Blume,
Los Angeles Times,
29 May 2025
-
The suit, which hopes to overturn the law, argues that the city’s ordinance violates the First Amendment and does not apply to other forms of speech, like a political candidate asking for support or a church member proselytizing.—
Vivienne Serret,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
They were bewildered for me, and so was all the other staff.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Apr. 2025
-
Small wonder many of the migrants are disoriented and bewildered.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Injuries contributed to the Pacers’ series wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and the Cleveland Cavaliers, but claiming the Pacers only advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for a second straight postseason because of lucky breaks discredits their greatness.—
Jovan Buha,
New York Times,
22 May 2025
-
The former Minnesota Democratic congressman was widely shunned for running against Biden and discredited for his accusations that Biden wasn’t capable of being president again.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
22 May 2025
Verb
-
What’s more, the double-stitched seams and baffle box design keep lumps at bay.—
Nashia Baker,
Architectural Digest,
28 May 2025
-
The owner shared a video of the car veering left, a video that has Tesla examiner’s baffled.—
Peter Lyon,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confound.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confound. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share