conflating

verb

present participle of conflate
1
as in confusing
to fail to differentiate (a thing) from something similar or related be careful not to conflate gossip with real news

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in combining
to turn into a single mass or entity that is more or less the same throughout the movie conflates documentary footage and dramatized reenactments so seamlessly and ingeniously that viewers may not know what is real and what is not

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of conflating This fall, make sure one of those conversations is about sports prediction markets and the risks of conflating gambling with investing. — Emily Stack, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026 Numerous industry sources have expressed concern over Ruffalo’s conflating the merger with anti-Israel sentiments. — Matt Donnelly, Variety, 22 Aug. 2026 Nearly every day brings some new development conflating the conflicts. — Jemele Hill, The Atlantic, 21 Aug. 2026 Trump, in the post, is conflating the Reflecting Pool damage with an apparent marking of the number 8647 on the nearby National Mall last month. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 1 Aug. 2026 During closing arguments, prosecutors said the defense was conflating the timeline and evidence presented during Colt Gray's criminal case with the evidence introduced during Colin Gray's trial. — Dan Raby, CBS News, 30 July 2026 Stability and safety are not the same thing, and conflating them is one of the most expensive mistakes in portfolio construction. — Andrew Sukhin, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026 The report also continues PEN America’s work, begun in 2016, of conflating Zionism with Jewish identity, a critical argument in Title VI civil rights claims used to argue that BDS is harassment. — Literary Hub, 17 July 2026 However, Zubkov cautions against conflating brain activation with dementia prevention. — Stephanie Anderson Witmer, Health, 3 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for conflating
  1. confusing
  2. combining
  3. mistaking
  4. mixing
  5. integrating
  6. merging
  7. blending
  8. amalgamating
Verb
  • Then began the desperate, confusing search for their colleagues.
    — Ross Adkin, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Summary Founders frequently misjudge their business's worth, often confusing revenue with actual value.
    — Lien De Pau, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of confusing
Verb
  • Klein, for his part, hopes the results inspire future research combining keto with popular glucagonlike peptide 1 (GLP-1) weight-loss drugs such as semaglutide, tirzepatide, and more.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 27 Aug. 2026
  • By combining multiple types of light into one image, NASA is able to reveal the complete picture of what this energetic galaxy is made of.
    — Brett Tingley, Space.com, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of combining
Verb
  • Parton played herself in the 2005 follow-up to 2000’s Miss Congeniality, which featured a scene where Bullock’s character, FBI agent Gracie Hart, tackles and straddles the country music legend—mistaking her for a Vegas impersonator.
    — Leigh Blickley, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Aug. 2026
  • There’s no mistaking the pop sensibilities that made this song cross over for the country star, from the Carpenters-worthy soft-pop charm of that piano intro to the lush orchestration on the bridge.
    — Ed Masley, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of mistaking
Verb
  • Veteran Emari Demercado should start the season as the third-down passing back, with Brashard Smith mixing in as a gadget piece and kick returner.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Trying to fit Hinduism into Western categories of theisms diverges from the tradition’s diverse history of ideas while mixing internal understandings with European perspectives and categories.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of mixing
Verb
  • MacDonald and editor Phil Hignett have a keen, witty sense of how the online realm crashes offline living, seamlessly integrating deadly-accurate TikTok parodies into the film’s breezy narrative flow.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
  • By integrating waypoint tracking with an obstacle-avoidance cost, the robot could detour around an obstacle while continuing toward its destination.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of integrating
Verb
  • Paramount’s affirmative case is that merging Paramount+ and HBO Max would create a streaming business with the scale to compete with Netflix, Disney and Amazon.
    — Joseph M. Singer, HollywoodReporter, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Kavanaugh-Jones previously worked as a film finance agent at CAA before launching Automatik and then merging with Range in 2023.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of merging
Verb
  • Randolph, a four-year varsity player, emerged last season as a disruptive force by blending elite size with mobility, quickness and athleticism.
    — Patrick Z. McGavin, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Recently recruited executive chef Spencer Coplan serves an inventive menu blending seasonally appropriate Hudson Valley farm-to-table, Americana, and international influences.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of blending
Verb
  • To Coimbra, some key questions involved amalgamating real-life characters into fictionalized ones while still honoring victims and survivors, as well as faithfully recreating the look and feel of the time.
    — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 6 Apr. 2026
  • By amalgamating these museological devices into the artwork, Aram directly upsets the threefold impulse to pierce form with meaning, to arrest color with identity, and to neutralize bodies with limits.
    — Julian Stern, Artforum, 24 Mar. 2026
Definition of amalgamating

Browse Nearby Words

conflates
conflating
conflation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Conflating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/conflating. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All