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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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confound
The cost aspects are hard to pin down since there are so many conflicting and confounding variables that come into the picture when determining costs for any kind of generative AI.
—
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
So there’s a basic fact-check element that can be time consuming and occasionally confounding.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Although the existence of Log Cabin Republicans has confounded many in the broader LGBTQ+ community since the organization was founded in 1977, the participation of some gay conservatives in the MAGA movement has been particularly macabre.
—Samantha Riedel, Them., 27 Mar. 2025
There's a lot of confounding factors that might influence whether someone gets pulled over and cited, like their gender, the make of their car, and so on.
—Samuel Axon, ArsTechnica, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for confound
Lance Eliot, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
So there’s a basic fact-check element that can be time consuming and occasionally confounding.
—Joe Reid, Vulture, 26 Feb. 2025
Although the existence of Log Cabin Republicans has confounded many in the broader LGBTQ+ community since the organization was founded in 1977, the participation of some gay conservatives in the MAGA movement has been particularly macabre.
—Samantha Riedel, Them., 27 Mar. 2025
There's a lot of confounding factors that might influence whether someone gets pulled over and cited, like their gender, the make of their car, and so on.
—Samuel Axon, ArsTechnica, 27 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.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
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Few foods confuse foreign visitors quite like brunost, Norwegian brown cheese.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Mariah Carey just pulled a classic mom move by embarrassing her teenage son in front of his friends.—
Mitchell Peters,
Billboard,
5 Apr. 2025
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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.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trump’s own Social Security chief eventually refuted the claim.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2025
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His lawyers refute the charges and argue no crimes have been committed that violate his visa.—
Anna Spiegel,
Axios,
21 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Pritzker’s roughly 10-minute interview followed a week when Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs roiled stock markets and left American investors, businesses and the nation’s trading partners perplexed about what the president is attempting to achieve.—
Dan Petrella,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Apr. 2025
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Curious onlookers can expect to catch a glimpse of the full moon's peak at 8:22 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on April 12, 2025, yet the lack of a rosy hue may leave many people perplexed.—
Jack Knudson,
Discover Magazine,
10 Apr. 2025
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.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Apr. 2025
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He was released after a court overturned his 40-year sentence for the kidnapping and killing of Camarena.—
Greg Norman,
FOXNews.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Across the street, her husband Steve, who nursed Molly through her first fight with breast cancer a few years earlier, sits bewildered in the office of their couples therapist.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Mar. 2025
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Carlie thinks the whole thing is hilarious, and Chelsea remains bewildered by any King Cake Baby obsession.—
Chelsea Brasted,
Axios,
20 Feb. 2025
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.—
Time,
Time,
10 Apr. 2025
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Bolsonaro’s efforts to discredit the election had already found allies abroad.—
Jon Lee Anderson,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
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.—
Mark Price,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2025
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President Donald Trump’s mass tariffs have baffled Americans, creating uncertainty for the average consumer, according to industry leaders.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
8 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confound.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confound. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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