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| con·found [ kən fównd ] (past and past participle con·found·ed, present participle con·found·ing, 3rd person present singular con·founds) |
transitive verb |
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| Definition: |
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1. bewilder somebody: to puzzle or confuse somebody
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2. make things worse: to cause a confused situation to become even more confused
  Shouting at her like that only confounded the problem.
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3. refute something: to prove somebody or something to be wrong
confounded the critics and went on to become an international success
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4. put somebody to shame: to cause somebody to feel ashamed or embarrassed
Her presentation confounded everyone who had criticized her.
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5. frustrate: to prevent somebody or something from succeeding
The lack of progress confounded him and he left in disgust.
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6. mix things up: to fail to distinguish between two or more things
I am not confounding modesty with bashfulness.
He often confounds fact and opinion.
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7. expressing anger: used to express anger at something or somebody
(
dated
)
Confound his insolence!
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8. ruin something: to ruin or destroy somebody or something
(
archaic
)
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| [13th century. Via Anglo-Norman conf(o)undre< Latin confundere "pour together" < fundere "melt, pour"] |
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| con·found·er noun |
| con·found·ing·ly adverb |
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