2 syllables: con, found. Stress on found.
kahn-FOWND
/kɑˈnfaʊnd/
confound is pronounced kahn-FOWND (/kɑˈnfaʊnd/). It has two syllables (con-found), with the stress on "found". Confound is a verb (and sometimes a noun in philosophy) meaning to cause someone to become perplexed or confused, or to mix up two contrasting things. In formal contexts it can imply frustrating or thwarting expectations. The term can also function as a noun in scholarly usage, referring to something that confounds or perplexes. Overall, it denotes puzzling or mixing up distinctions or outcomes.
Confound is a verb (and sometimes a noun in philosophy) meaning to cause someone to become perplexed or confused, or to mix up two contrasting things. In formal contexts it can imply frustrating or thwarting expectations. The term can also function as a noun in scholarly usage, referring to something that confounds or perplexes. Overall, it denotes puzzling or mixing up distinctions or outcomes.
"The magician's trick confounded the audience, who gasped at the illusion."
"Her careful reasoning confounded the assumption that the theory was correct."
"The survey results confounded researchers, showing an unexpected split in opinions."
Pronounce it as kən-FOUND, with stress on the second syllable. IPA: US/UK/AU /kənˈfaʊnd/. Start with a schwa, move to the diphthong /aʊ/ in the second syllable, and finish with /nd/ as in 'and' plus 'd'. Mouth position: relaxed initial, then a rounded lip position for /aʊ/ and a final stop release. Audio reference: try listening to Cambridge or Oxford dictionaries for /kənˈfaʊnd/ and repeat slowly, then speed up.
Most learners mispronounce by placing stress on the first syllable as /ˈkɒnfaʊnd/ or by truncating the /aʊ/ diphthong to a simple /o/ or /u/ sound. The correction: keep the second syllable stressed and clearly articulate /aʊ/ in the diphthong, then end sharply with /nd/. Practice with the minimal pair 'found' to ensure the suffix sounds right: kən-FOUND.
In US/UK/AU, the initial vowel is a schwa /ə/ in both syllables before the stressed /ˈfaʊnd/. The main difference lies in rhoticity and vowel quality: US is rhotic, but /ˌfaʊnd/ remains consistent; UK and AU share rhotic tendencies in rapid speech, with a slightly less pronounced 'r' in some accents and a very clear /aʊ/ for the second syllable. Overall, the core /kənˈfaʊnd/ stays stable across these accents.
The challenge comes from the /ɪ/ to /aʊ/ transition in the second syllable and the /nd/ cluster at the end after a fast, unstressed start. Learners often keep a clipped /nd/ or misarticulate the /aʊ/ diphthong, producing /kənˈfaʊn/ or /kənˈfæʊnd/. Focus on a clean /ə/ then a clear /aɪ/ or /aʊ/ glide into /nd/. Slow, precise articulation helps build the mouth memory for the sequence.
The critical feature is the strong secondary stress-free second syllable with the /aʊ/ diphthong leading into the /nd/ ending. Ensure you do not reduce the /ˈfaʊ/ to a plain /faʊ/ and keep the /nd/ as a full alveolar nasal plus stop. This contrasts with words like 'found' that embed the same vowels but without the preceding schwa. IPA guidance: /kənˈfaʊnd/.
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Confound comes from the Medieval Latin confundere, from con- “together” and fundere “to pour, to melt, to blend.” The sense evolved from “to pour together, meditate, mix up” to later mean “to confuse by puzzling or misinterpreting.” In English, confound appears in the 15th century, originally carrying connotations of mixing up or mixing in, as in confounding two substances or ideas. By the 16th–17th centuries, it acquired the figurative sense of causing someone to be bewildered or to mistake one thing for another. The noun confound, less common today, appears in philosophical and theological contexts, denoting a thing that causes puzzlement or confusion. The word’s etymology reflects its core idea: a blending or mixing that disrupts clear understanding. Over time, usage broadened to express both personal mental bewilderment and experimental outcomes that contradict expectations. The negative, somewhat formal tone is retained in many modern uses, especially in academic or critical discourse. First known uses in English and related Romance languages cite confundere as the root source, with the prefix con- indicating “together” and fundere meaning “to pour” or “to pour out,” capturing the original imagery of substances poured together leading to confusion or mixing up. While common in everyday speech in modern English, the word maintains a slightly formal or literary flavor, especially when used to describe research results or abstract distinctions that become confounded.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "confound" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "confound"
-und sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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