Link Centre Dictionary

confound

con·found

UK/kənˈfaʊnd/ US/kʌˈnfaʊnd/ uncommon archaic dated

verb

1.

be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly

  • “These questions confuse even the experts”
  • “This question completely threw me”
  • “This question befuddled even the teacher”
Synonyms
2.

mistake one thing for another

  • “you are confusing me with the other candidate”
  • “I mistook her for the secretary”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English confounden (“destroy, ruin, perplex”), from Anglo-Norman cunfundre and Old French confondre, from Latin cōnfundō (“to mingle, mix together”). Related to found (“to melt (metals in a foundry)”) (but not to found (“to start”), nor to find) and to fusion.

Phrases

  • confound it
  • confounding factor
  • confounding variable

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.