verb
conflate
Conflate (verb) means to bring two or more things together as one.
verb
1
To bring two or more things together as one.
2
To wrongly treat two different things as if they were the same.
"“Bacon was Lord Chancellor of England and the first European to experiment with gunpowder.” — “No, you are conflating Francis Bacon and Roger Bacon.”"
3
To link two things together on purpose to create a false impression.
"But again, this conflates global geographic variation with race, says Alan Goodman, a biological anthropologist at Hampshire College."
— , Your big questions about race, answered (2020)
"“We must stop conflating selectivity with excellence. We must stop correlating prestige with privilege,” he said."
— Deidre McPhillips, Critiques mount around popular annual college rankings (2022)
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Etymology
Attested since 1541: from Latin cōnflātus, past passive participle of cōnflō (“fuse, kindle, blow together”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Synonyms
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Related words
Rhymes for conflate
See all rhymes for conflate →Frequently asked questions
What is the meaning of conflate?
"conflate" (verb) means to bring two or more things together as one.
What is another word for conflate?
Other words for "conflate" include immix, combine, commingle, flux, merge, coalesce.
What is the opposite of conflate?
The opposite of "conflate" is differentiate.
What are the different meanings of conflate?
"conflate" has 3 main meanings: 1. To bring two or more things together as one; 2. To wrongly treat two different things as if they were the same; 3. To link two things together on purpose to create a false impression.
