Alison LurieRosemary MahoneyDavid BarronBill 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
Rachel Marsden, Hartford Courant, 16 May 2026
Because in practice, the presence of human review and the existence of meaningful human oversight are not the same thing, and boards are routinely approving systems based on assurances that conflate the two.
—Tiffany Archer, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
The tricky part of being a celebrity like Firstman on the internet is that some people can conflate your comedic persona (which is maybe a little arrogant, a little colorful) with your real identity.
—Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026
But Kennedy’s initiative conflates that genuine clinical need with claims unsupported by evidence — and some that are actively dangerous.
—Jonathan Slater, STAT, 13 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for conflate
Cite this Entry
“Conflate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conflate. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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