confound
con·found/kənˈfaʊnd/verb, noun
confound is spelled C-O-N-F-O-U-N-D: 8 letters and 2 syllables (con·found). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, confound means “To perplex or puzzle” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in confound?
| Letters | 8: C-O-N-F-O-U-N-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: con·found |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 44,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is confound?
Confound appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 44,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce confound?
- /kənˈfaʊnd/
Confound has 2 syllables, split con·found in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-confound.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of confound
- confounds present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- confounding participle, present
- confounded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does confound mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To perplex or puzzle.
- 2
To stun or amaze.
- 3
To fail to see the difference; to mix up; to confuse right and wrong.
- 4
proscribedTo make something worse.
Don't confound the situation by yelling.
- 5
To combine in a confused fashion; to mingle so as to make the parts indistinguishable.
- 6
To cause to be ashamed; to abash.
His actions confounded the skeptics.
- 7
To defeat, to frustrate, to thwart.
- 8
datedTo damn (a mild oath).
Confound you!
noun
- 1
A confounding variable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Confound in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | verwirren, verblüffen , in Erstaunen versetzen , durcheinanderbringen |
| Portuguese | confundir , piorar |
| Spanish | confundir, barahustar, barajustar, baraustar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does confound come from?
From Middle English confounden (“destroy, ruin, perplex”), from Anglo-Norman cunfundre and Old French confondre, from Latin cōnfundō (“to mingle, mix together”). Related to found (“to melt (metals in a foundry)”) (but not to found (“to start”), nor to find) and to fusion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).