1
as in baffling
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 embarrassing
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in confusing
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 refuting
to prove to be false
new discoveries that confound much of what archaeologists thought they knew about the Mayan civilization
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in perplexing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of confounding
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2025
Mike Jones, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
That sort of effect from what meteorologists call outflow could be a confounding factor as the situation unfolds because existing forecast models don’t re-create it realistically, Gerard says.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2025
Here, hot weather is the confounding variable leading to both outcomes.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 23 Sep. 2025
This provided a simple way to skirt confounding variables, such as genetics and environmental factors, to which siblings would have similar exposure.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2025
And a truly confounding TV experience.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 22 Sep. 2025
And yet, the discovery represents a confounding moment.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Yet, Melania also has a habit of confounding fashion-watchers.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Such thematic complications present themselves, though in a confounding order, with unreliable consistency.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
Verb
Tuesday will go down as one of Boston’s most confounding losses of the season, a 4-3 defeat in 11 innings to the Baltimore Orioles in which the club went 0 for 13 with runners in scoring position.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 22 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Blown coverages and confounding miscommunications ran rampant.
—Mike Jones, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
That sort of effect from what meteorologists call outflow could be a confounding factor as the situation unfolds because existing forecast models don’t re-create it realistically, Gerard says.
—Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 26 Sep. 2025
Here, hot weather is the confounding variable leading to both outcomes.
—Erica Sloan, SELF, 23 Sep. 2025
This provided a simple way to skirt confounding variables, such as genetics and environmental factors, to which siblings would have similar exposure.
—Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 22 Sep. 2025
And a truly confounding TV experience.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 22 Sep. 2025
And yet, the discovery represents a confounding moment.
—Doyle Rice, USA Today, 19 Sep. 2025
Yet, Melania also has a habit of confounding fashion-watchers.
—Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Such thematic complications present themselves, though in a confounding order, with unreliable consistency.
—Sam Bodrojan, IndieWire, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for confounding
Verb
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In May, Kennedy vowed to find what caused autism by September, baffling scientists who near-unanimously believe there is no one cause of the condition.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
22 Sep. 2025
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This is stuttering, crashing and other issues, even on high-end hardware way above recommended specs, which is baffling some.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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No one had fooled Coppola into embarrassing himself publicly — although there’s always a risk, when a powerful figure surrounds himself with yes-people, that no one is left to push back and challenge his choices.—
Peter Debruge,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
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This still was a much stronger performance by the Fins than last week’s embarrassing 33-8 defeat in Indianapolis, but that was a low bar to leap.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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At one point at the state banquet, the president was seen confusing Camilla and Kate.—
Lea Veloso,
StyleCaster,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Advertisement The recent announcement only compounds the harm, confusing parents and diverting attention and resources from questions that could actually bring answers.—
Dr. Craig Spencer,
Time,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Health experts and medical organizations are refuting claims of a link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism.—
Beth Warren,
Nashville Tennessean,
25 Sep. 2025
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Barrett himself previously addressed the rumors surrounding his time off, refuting any suggestion that he had been removed from his position.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The phenomenon is called seasonal asynchrony, and a new study finds these perplexing locations appear in tropical mountains of countries like Costa Rica as well as places like California that have Mediterranean climates.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
22 Sep. 2025
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The Quiz In one of the more perplexing acquisitions this year, early 2000s music sharing platform LimeWire acquired the rights to the infamous Fyre Festival in an auction this week.—
Maggie McGrath,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Your appetite might differ, but for me, nine novels in, all this code-cracking and jigsaw-puzzling is no longer thrilling.—
Kathryn Schulz,
New Yorker,
22 Sep. 2025
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This is puzzling since successful organizations focus on people, processes, and cultural change besides technology implementation.—
London School of Economics,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The general procedure for challenging balls and strikes called by the umpires was also announced.—
Julio Cesar Valdera Morales,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
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In his closing argument, lead defense lawyer Mark Agnifilo explicitly told jurors that the defense wasn’t challenging the women’s claims of domestic violence.—
Nancy Dillon,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Over the course of a few hours in Washington on Tuesday, the increasingly muddled state of public health unfolded.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
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This is an impossible task – partly due to Trump’s own muddled thinking – but most importantly, because Putin does not want peace.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
8 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Confounding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/confounding. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
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