CONFOUNDING

confounding, contradictory

(adjective) that confounds or contradicts or confuses

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Verb

confounding

present participle of confound

Noun

confounding (plural confoundings)

The act by which things are confounded, or confused.

(epidemiology) The process by which an apparent association between an exposure and an outcome is actually explained by another factor.

Source: Wiktionary

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CONFOUND

Con*found" (kon*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.

They who strip not ideas from the marks men use for them, but confound them with words, must have endless dispute. Locke.

Let us go down, and there confound their language. Gen. xi. 7.

2. To mistake for another; to identify falsely.

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

3. To throw into confusion or disorder; to perplex; to strike with amazement; to dismay.

The gods confound... The Athenians both within and out that wall. Shak.

They trusted in thee and were not confounded. Ps. xxii. 5.

So spake the Son of God, and Satan stood A while as mute, confounded what to say. Milton.

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

One man's lust these many lives confounds. Shak.

How couldst thou in a mile confound an hour Shak.

Syn. -- To abash; confuse; baffle; dismay; astonish; defeat; terrify; mix; blend; intermingle. See Abash.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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