to confound

Examples

• All

• It is easy to confound the two similar-looking species of birds if you are not careful.

• The market operates so as to confound rule makers.

• And so you will confound the two in your analysis.

• Would Your Grace confound all natural laws?

  The Other Boleyn Girl (2003)

• There is nothing more common than to confound the terms of the American Revolution with those of the late American War.

• But if you drop low in that instant, then you will confound this exercise.

• Why don't you confound your critics and write something completely different?

  Swimming Pool (2003)

• There the Lord confounded their language... and scattered them abroad upon the Earth.

  The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966)

• And it turns out that the only class that she had had on a reproduction was plant biology, and she had confounded pollen with sperm.

• But in an amusing twist, he confounds the family's design by leaving the fortune to himself.

  Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

C

to confuse

vsto confound

142 1.9

Think one person or thing is another by mistake

is similar but also includes mixing items, not only mistaken identity

M

to mistake for

vsto confound

112 3.5

To think one person or thing is another

is broader, covering various kinds of mixing up beyond that specific identification

M

to mistake

vsto confound

95 2.6

To think one person or thing is another

is a more general mixing up of items or people rather than just ID error

M

to mix up

vsto confound

• Informal

65 2.7

To make people confused and things messy

focuses more on mistaken identity or direct confusion between two items

M

to misunderstand

vsto confound

53 1.8

To think something is true when it is not

focuses more on confusing physical things or people than comprehension errors

P

to perplex

vsto confound

35 6.3

To make someone confused and unable to understand

leans toward mixing up items or identities, not only causing puzzlement

M

to muddle

vsto confound

33 4.8

Mix things up so they are unclear

is narrower, often about mistaking one specific thing for another

M

to misinterpret

vsto confound

23 4.2

To understand something in the wrong way

refers more to confusing distinct items or people than misreading meaning

B

to befuddle

vsto confound

11 7.8

To make someone very confused so they cannot think clearly

is more about specific errors between items or people than general confusion

A

to addle

vsto confound

6 8.9

To make a person confused and unable to think clearly

more often denotes swapping or mistaking items rather than general mental fog

D

to discombobulate

vsto confound

• Informal

6 9.9

To confuse someone so they cannot think clearly

is more about confusing one thing for another, not just bewildering someone

M

to misconceive

vsto confound

1 7.5

To understand something in the wrong way

involves confusing items or people, not only wrong ideas

M

to misapprehend

vsto confound

1 8.2

To understand something wrongly

is about mixing up objects or people rather than only wrong interpretation

M

to misrecognize

vsto confound

• US

8.1

Mistake a person or object for a different one

covers both wrong identification and other kinds of mixing or confusion

M

to misprise

vsto confound

• Archaic

9.9

To understand something in the wrong way

is concerned with confusing items or identities rather than only wrong sense

Antonyms

C

to clarify

248 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

D

to distinguish

177 3.1

To notice differences between things or people

Idioms

C

confound it

• Archaic

1 9.9

A short phrase people say when they are annoyed

How Confused

to baffle

65 5.3

to bewilder

29 5.3

to perplex

35 6.3

to confuse

266 1.9

to confound

12 7.3

to mistake

95 2.6

to mix up

• Informal

65 2.7

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology