confound

Verb
Synonyms: confusethrowfoxbefuddlefuddlebedevildiscombobulate

WordNet 3.0

Verb (2)

  1. be confusing or perplexing to; cause to be unable to think clearly“These questions confuse even the experts”“This question completely threw me”“This question befuddled even the teacher”Synonyms: confusethrowfoxbefuddlefuddlebedevildiscombobulate
  2. mistake one thing for another“you are confusing me with the other candidate”“I mistook her for the secretary”Synonyms: confuse
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Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)

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 different elements can not be distinguished; to confuse. [1913 Webster]

They who strip not ideas from the marks men use for them, but confound them with words, must have endless dispute.— Locke.[1913 Webster]
Let us go down, and there confound their language.— Gen. xi. 7.[1913 Webster]

2.To mistake for another; to identify falsely. [1913 Webster]

They [the tinkers] were generally vagrants and pilferers, and were often confounded with the gypsies.— Macaulay.[1913 Webster]

3.To throw into confusion or disorder; to perplex; to strike with amazement; to dismay. [1913 Webster]

The gods confound... The Athenians both within and out that wall.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
They trusted in thee and were not confounded.— Ps. xxii. 5.[1913 Webster]
So spake the Son of God, and Satan stood A while as mute, confounded what to say.— Milton.[1913 Webster]

4.To destroy; to ruin; to waste. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]

One man's lust these many lives confounds.— Shak.[1913 Webster]
How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour?— Shak.

Syn: To abash; confuse; baffle; dismay; astonish; defeat; terrify; mix; blend; intermingle. See Abash. [1913 Webster]

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