All 3 Uses of
confound
in
The House of Mirth
- Lily's visit to the Dorsets had resulted, for both, in the discovery that they could be of use to each other; and the civilized instinct finds a subtler pleasure in making use of its antagonist than in confounding him.†
Chpt 1.12 *
- "Oh, confound it, you know, we don't MARRY Rosedale in our family," Stepney languidly protested; but his wife, who sat in oppressive bridal finery at the other side of the room, quelled him with the judicial reflection: "In Lily's circumstances it's a mistake to have too high a standard."†
Chpt 1.14
- I'm confoundedly gone on you—that's about the size of it—and I'm just giving you a plain business statement of the consequences.†
Chpt 1.15
Definition:
-
(confound) to confuse, prove wrong, frustrate, or express frustrationin various senses, including:
confuse or surprise -- sometimes specifically to confuse one thing with another
- "confounded by the puzzle" -- confused or perplexed
- "Test results confounded the experts." -- surprised and confused
- "Do not confound confidence with correctness." -- mistake one thing for another
prove wrong, defeat, or frustrate
- "The test results confounded my theory." -- proved wrong
- "Their defense confounded our offense." -- defeated or frustrated
make worse
- "She confounded the problem by painting without sanding." -- made worse
- "The task is complicated by other confounding factors." -- making worse
an exclamation expressing anger or frustration
- "Confound it! Will I ever get this thing to work?"
- "I don't understand the confounded directions!"