Emily Dickinson Lexicon

CON-FOUND', v.t. [Fr. confondre; L. confundo; con and fundo, to pour out; It. confondere; Sp. and Port. confundir. Literally, to pour or throw together.]

1. To mingle and blend different things, so that their forms or natures can not be distinguished; to mix in a mass or crowd, so that individuals can not be distinguished.
2. To throw into disorder. Let us go down, and there confound their language. Gen. xi.
3. To mix or blend, so as to occasion a mistake of one thing for another; as, men may confound ideas with words. A fluid body and a wetting liquor, because they agree in many things, are wont to be confounded. – Boyle.
4. To perplex; to disturb the apprehension by indistinctness of ideas or words. Men may confound each other by unintelligible terms or wrong application of words.
5. To abash; to throw the mind into disorder; to cast down; to make ashamed. Be thou confounded and bear thy shame. Ezek. xvi. Saul confounded the Jews at Damascus. Acts ix.
6. To perplex with terror; to terrify; to dismay; to astonish; to throw into consternation; to stupefy with amazement. So spoke the Son of God; and Satan stood / A while as mute, confounded what to say. – Milton. The multitude came together and were confounded. – Acts ii.
7. To destroy; to overthrow. So deep a malice to confound the race / Of mankind in one root. – Milton.