First Known Use: 14th century
Dictionary
confound
verb con·found \kən-ˈfau̇nd, kän-\
: to surprise and confuse (someone or something)
: to prove (someone or something) wrong
—used as an interjection to express anger or annoyance
Full Definition of CONFOUND
transitive verb
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: damn
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: to throw (a person) into confusion or perplexity
6
a : to fail to discern differences between : mix up b : to increase the confusion of
— con·found·er \-ˈfau̇n-dər\ noun
— con·found·ing·ly \-diŋ-lē\ adverb
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Origin of CONFOUND
Middle English, from Anglo-French confundre, from Latin confundere to pour together, confuse, from com- + fundere to pour — more at found
Related to CONFOUND
Synonym Discussion of CONFOUND
puzzle, perplex, bewilder, distract, nonplus, confound, dumbfound mean to baffle and disturb mentally. puzzle implies existence of a problem difficult to solve <the persistent fever puzzled the doctor>. perplex adds a suggestion of worry and uncertainty especially about making a necessary decision <a behavior that perplexed her friends>. bewilder stresses a confusion of mind that hampers clear and decisive thinking <a bewildering number of possibilities>. distract implies agitation or uncertainty induced by conflicting preoccupations or interests <distracted by personal problems>. nonplus implies a bafflement that makes orderly planning or deciding impossible <the remark left us utterly nonplussed>. confound implies temporary mental paralysis caused by astonishment or profound abasement <the tragic news confounded us all>. dumbfound suggests intense but momentary confounding; often the idea of astonishment is so stressed that it becomes a near synonym of astound <was at first too dumbfounded to reply>.
Rhymes with CONFOUND
abound, aground, around, astound, background, bloodhound, boozehound, brassbound, break ground, campground, chowhound, clothbound, come round, compound, coonhound, deerhound, deskbound, dumbfound, earthbound, eastbound, elkhound, expound, fairground, fogbound, foot-pound, foreground, foxhound, gain ground, go-round, greyhound, half-bound, hardbound, hellhound, hidebound, high ground, homebound, horehound, housebound, icebound, impound, inbound, ironbound, lose ground, newfound, newshound, northbound, outbound, playground, pot-bound, profound, propound, rebound, redound, renowned, resound, rockbound, rock hound, scent hound, sight hound, sleuthhound, smooth hound, snowbound, softbound, southbound, spellbound, staghound, stone-ground, stormbound, strikebound, surround, to ground, top round, unbound, unround, unsound, well-found, westbound, wolfhound, year-round
CONFOUNDINGLY Defined for Kids
confound
verb con·found \kən-ˈfau̇nd, kän-\
con·found·edcon·found·ing
Definition of CONFOUND for Kids
: confuse 1 <The crime has confounded police.>
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