Definition of CONFOUND

confound

Plural: confounds

Verb

Verb Forms: confounded, confounding, confounds

  • To cause confusion or surprise, often by contradiction.
  • be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly
  • mistake one thing for another
  • To perplex or puzzle.
  • To stun or amaze.
  • To fail to see the difference; to mix up; to confuse right and wrong.
  • To make something worse.
  • To combine in a confused fashion; to mingle so as to make the parts indistinguishable.
  • To cause to be ashamed; to abash.
  • To defeat, to frustrate, to thwart.
  • To damn (a mild oath).
  • To destroy, ruin, or devastate; to bring to ruination.

Noun

  • A confounding variable.

Examples

  • Confound the lady!
  • Confound you!
  • Don't confound the situation by yelling.
  • His actions confounded the skeptics.
  • His unexpected bingo play was enough to CONFOUND his opponent’s strategy.

Origin / Etymology

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.

Scrabble Score: 14

confound: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
confound: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
confound: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 18

confound: valid Words With Friends Word