confound

confound
transitive verb Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French confundre, from Latin confundere to pour together, confuse, from com- + fundere to pour — more at found Date: 14th century 1. a. archaic to bring to ruin ; destroy b. baffle, frustrate <
conferences…are not for accomplishment but to confound knavish tricks — J. K. Galbraith
>
2. obsolete consume, waste 3. a. to put to shame ; discomfit <
a performance that confounded the critics
>
b. refute <
sought to confound his arguments
>
4. damn 5. to throw (a person) into confusion or perplexity 6. a. to fail to discern differences between ; mix up b. to increase the confusion of Synonyms: see puzzleconfounder nounconfoundingly adverb

New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.

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  • Confound — Con*found (k[o^]n*found ), v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Confounded}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Confounding}.] [F. confondre, fr. L. confundere, fusum, to pour together; con + fundere to pour. See {Fuse} to melt, and cf. {Confuse}.] 1. To mingle and blend, so that …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • confound it — ● confound * * * conˈfound it/you! idiom (old fashioned) used to show that you are angry about sth/with sb Main entry: ↑confoundidiom …   Useful english dictionary

  • confound — I verb abash, astonish, astound, baffle, be uncertain, becloud, bewilder, bring into disorder, complicate, confundere, confuse, dumbfound, embrangle, embroil, entangle, involve, make havoc, mingle confusedly, mislead, muddle, mystify, nonplus,… …   Law dictionary

  • confound — c.1300, make uneasy, abash, from Anglo Fr. confoundre, from O.Fr. confondre (12c.) crush, ruin, disgrace, throw into disorder, from L. confundere to confuse, lit. to pour together, mix, mingle, from com together (see COM (Cf. com )) + fundere to… …   Etymology dictionary

  • confound — 1 dumbfound, nonplus, bewilder, mystify, *puzzle, perplex, distract Analogous words: flabbergast, amaze, astound, astonish, *surprise: discomfit, faze, rattle, abash, *embarrass, disconcert 2 confuse, *mistake Analogous words: muddle, addle,… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • confound — [v] confuse abash, amaze, astonish, astound, baffle, befog, bewilder, blend, bug*, commingle, confute, discombobulate*, discomfit, discountenance, dumbfound, embarrass, faze, fiddle, flabbergast, jumble, metagrobolize, misidentify, mix, mix up*,… …   New thesaurus

  • confound — ► VERB 1) surprise or bewilder. 2) prove wrong. 3) defeat (a plan, aim, or hope). ORIGIN Latin confundere pour together, mix up …   English terms dictionary

  • confound — [kən found′; ] for 3, usually [ kän′found] vt. [ME confouṅden < OFr confondre < L confundere, to pour together, confuse < com , together + fundere, to pour: see FOUND3] 1. to mix up or lump together indiscriminately; confuse 2. to make… …   English World dictionary

  • confound — verb /kənˈfaʊnd/ a) To confuse; to mix up; to puzzle. And the brother of Jared being a large and mighty man, and a man highly favored of the Lord, Jared, his brother, said unto him: Cry unto the Lord, that he will not confound us that we may not… …   Wiktionary

  • confound — confoundable, adj. confounder, n. confoundingly, adv. /kon fownd , keuhn /; for 6 usually /kon fownd /, v.t. 1. to perplex or amaze, esp. by a sudden disturbance or surprise; bewilder; confuse: The complicated directions confounded him. 2. to… …   Universalium

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