Conflate
verb
To combine two or more things, ideas, or people into one, typically in a way that is not correct or suitable.
The educational system often conflates intelligence with academic success.
Often appears as...
- conflate ideas
- conflate issues
verb
To mistakenly think of two or more things as the same thing.
People often conflate confidence with arrogance.
Often appears as...
- conflate one thing with another
- conflate things together
verb
To combine two or more things, ideas, or people into one, typically in a way that is not correct or suitable.
The educational system often conflates intelligence with academic success.
Often appears as...
- conflate ideas
- conflate issues
verb
To mistakenly think of two or more things as the same thing.
People often conflate confidence with arrogance.
Often appears as...
- conflate one thing with another
- conflate things together
Definition 1 of 2
Pro Tip 1/3Incorrect Merging
Use 'conflate' when incorrect merging oversimplifies complex things.
Politicians sometimes conflate social issues to gain support.
Pro Tip 2/3Overgeneralizing Danger
Beware of 'conflate' suggesting an oversimplification that may lead to misunderstandings.
Saying that all insects are pests conflates harmful species with beneficial ones.
Pro Tip 3/3Suitability Matters
'Conflate' points out incorrect or inappropriate combinations, not just any mixture.
The report conflates unrelated statistics, making it misleading.
Pro Tip 1/3Incorrect Merging
Use 'conflate' when incorrect merging oversimplifies complex things.
Politicians sometimes conflate social issues to gain support.
Pro Tip 2/3Overgeneralizing Danger
Beware of 'conflate' suggesting an oversimplification that may lead to misunderstandings.
Saying that all insects are pests conflates harmful species with beneficial ones.
Pro Tip 3/3Suitability Matters
'Conflate' points out incorrect or inappropriate combinations, not just any mixture.
The report conflates unrelated statistics, making it misleading.
Pro Tip 1/3Incorrect Merging
Use 'conflate' when incorrect merging oversimplifies complex things.
Politicians sometimes conflate social issues to gain support.
Pro Tip 2/3Overgeneralizing Danger
Beware of 'conflate' suggesting an oversimplification that may lead to misunderstandings.
Saying that all insects are pests conflates harmful species with beneficial ones.
Pro Tip 3/3Suitability Matters
'Conflate' points out incorrect or inappropriate combinations, not just any mixture.
The report conflates unrelated statistics, making it misleading.
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Video examples
Why should you read...
were on everyone's lips. So Shakespeare must have known he had potent material when he conflated and adapted the stories of a murderous 11th century Scottish King named Macbeth and those of several other Scottish nobles.
Video examples
In praise of conflict PIPE...
to protect us and the common good. The mistake that governments are making when they collaborate in this way with industry is that they conflate the common good
Video examples
SpaceX and Commercial...
I think people conflate two different things here when they talk about the moving frontier of space exploration if you're going to advance a space frontier
Video examples
Why should you read...
were on everyone's lips. So Shakespeare must have known he had potent material when he conflated and adapted the stories of a murderous 11th century Scottish King named Macbeth and those of several other Scottish nobles.
Video examples
In praise of conflict PIPE...
to protect us and the common good. The mistake that governments are making when they collaborate in this way with industry is that they conflate the common good
Video examples
SpaceX and Commercial...
I think people conflate two different things here when they talk about the moving frontier of space exploration if you're going to advance a space frontier
Example 1 of 3
Quote examples
Chamath Palihapitiya
American Businessman
We curate our lives around this perceived sense of perfection, because we get rewarded in these short term signals: Hearts, likes, thumbs up. We conflate that with value, and we conflate it with truth, and instead, what it really is is fake, brittle popularity that's short term and leaves you even more vacant and empty before you did it.
Quote examples
Mark Walport
British Scientist
People have extreme beliefs about whether it is right for humans to tamper with embryos in any way at all. Sometimes the values discussion gets conflated with the science discussion. We shouldn't pretend we're having an argument about science when we're having an argument about values.
Quote examples
Tara Westover
American Historian
I do think we have collectively begun to conflate the institutions of education for education itself. Education is an individual's pursuit of understanding and has a lot of implications for that person, for the kind of person that they are.
Quote examples
Sam Kean
American Writer
The amygdala is one of those brain structures that a lot of people know a little bit about, and there's a definite tendency to conflate the amygdala and the fear response itself - as if the amygdala, and the amygdala alone, 'causes' fear.
Quote examples
Josh Radnor
American Director
I think the word 'earnest' kind of has a negative connotation on some level. I think one of the things that's happened is that being cynical is somehow conflated with being sophisticated. I think that's problematic, to say the least.
Quote examples
Oliver Luck
We've conflated football games with patriotic zeal. I don't think attending a football game is any more patriotic than walking down the street to my local library. It's just another activity we all enjoy.
Quote examples
Satya Nadella
American Businessman
In the past, there was hardware, software, and platforms on top of which there were applications. Now they're getting conflated. That is all going to get disrupted by the move to the cloud.
Quote examples
Miranda July
American Director
Women writers are often conflated with their narrators - as if we can't consciously construct fictional worlds from the ground up and can only write diary entries.
Quote examples
Euny Hong
American Journalist
It's a classic error in American discourse: the conflation of race with culture.
Quote examples
David Lowery
American Director
I often conflate the domestic and the cosmic on a daily basis.
Quote examples
Chamath Palihapitiya
American Businessman
We curate our lives around this perceived sense of perfection, because we get rewarded in these short term signals: Hearts, likes, thumbs up. We conflate that with value, and we conflate it with truth, and instead, what it really is is fake, brittle popularity that's short term and leaves you even more vacant and empty before you did it.
Quote examples
Mark Walport
British Scientist
People have extreme beliefs about whether it is right for humans to tamper with embryos in any way at all. Sometimes the values discussion gets conflated with the science discussion. We shouldn't pretend we're having an argument about science when we're having an argument about values.
Quote examples
Tara Westover
American Historian
I do think we have collectively begun to conflate the institutions of education for education itself. Education is an individual's pursuit of understanding and has a lot of implications for that person, for the kind of person that they are.
Quote examples
Sam Kean
American Writer
The amygdala is one of those brain structures that a lot of people know a little bit about, and there's a definite tendency to conflate the amygdala and the fear response itself - as if the amygdala, and the amygdala alone, 'causes' fear.
Quote examples
Josh Radnor
American Director
I think the word 'earnest' kind of has a negative connotation on some level. I think one of the things that's happened is that being cynical is somehow conflated with being sophisticated. I think that's problematic, to say the least.
Quote examples
Oliver Luck
We've conflated football games with patriotic zeal. I don't think attending a football game is any more patriotic than walking down the street to my local library. It's just another activity we all enjoy.
Quote examples
Satya Nadella
American Businessman
In the past, there was hardware, software, and platforms on top of which there were applications. Now they're getting conflated. That is all going to get disrupted by the move to the cloud.
Quote examples
Miranda July
American Director
Women writers are often conflated with their narrators - as if we can't consciously construct fictional worlds from the ground up and can only write diary entries.
Quote examples
Euny Hong
American Journalist
It's a classic error in American discourse: the conflation of race with culture.
Quote examples
David Lowery
American Director
I often conflate the domestic and the cosmic on a daily basis.
Example 1 of 10
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