conflate

verb

con·flate kən-ˈflāt

conflated; conflating; conflates

Synonyms of conflate next

transitive verb

: to bring together : blend

Even more often, outsiders conflate the couple, and credit them with each other's characteristics.—

Alison Lurie

This unsettling book—conflating journalism, personal reportage, sociology and philosophical inquiry …—

Rosemary Mahoney

: confuse

Given its name, St. Thomas in Houston has on occasion been conflated with St. Thomas in Minnesota …—

David Barron

: to combine (things, such as two versions of a text) into a composite whole

For there are two substantive texts, the quarto published in 1597 and the folio in 1623. Modern editions usually conflate the pair to produce what the editor judges to be the best and most plausible hybrid.—

Bill Overton

Did you know?

We’re not just blowing hot air when we tell you that conflate can actually be traced back to the same roots as the English verb blow. Conflate comes from conflatus, a form of the Latin verb conflare (“to blow together, to fuse”), which was formed by combining the prefix com-, meaning “with” or “together,” with the Latin verb flare, meaning “to blow.” Blow’s ancestor, the Old English word blāwan, shares an ancestor with flare. When two or more things are conflated, they are figuratively “blown together” either by someone’s confusion or ingenuity. Other descendants of flare in English include flavor, inflate, and, well, flatulent.

Examples of conflate in a Sentence

be careful not to conflate gossip with real news the movie conflates documentary footage and dramatized reenactments so seamlessly and ingeniously that viewers may not know what is real and what is not

Recent Examples on the Web

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As a result, many have conflated science with a political standpoint. —

Devika Rao, theweek, 18 Dec. 2024 As inviting as that interpretation may be for anyone who conflates John Dutton with Kevin Costner — especially given the elevated onscreen role Sheridan gave himself, as if the creator could just swoop in and become the new star — the series doesn’t earn such a meta conclusion. —

Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Dec. 2024 Many leaders conflate the two types, have more experience with complicated problems, and therefore may struggle to manage complex situations. —

Nitin Nohria, bill George, kayti Stanley, Harvard Business Review, 10 Dec. 2024 Proponents of gender-affirming care bans inaccurately portray the effects of hormone replacement therapy on trans people's reproductive ability by conflating the treatment with sterilization. —

Orion Rummler, Them, 31 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for conflate