conflation

Also found in: Thesaurus, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

con·flate

(kən-flāt′)

tr.v. con·flat·ed, con·flat·ing, con·flates

1. To bring together; meld or fuse: "The problems [with the biopic] include ... dates moved around, lovers deleted, many characters conflated into one" (Ty Burr).

2. To combine (two variant texts, for example) into one whole.

3. To fail to distinguish between; confuse. See Usage Note below.

[Latin cōnflāre, cōnflāt- : com-, com- + flāre, to blow; see bhlē- in Indo-European roots.]

con·fla′tion n.

Usage Note: Traditionally, conflate means "To bring together; meld or fuse," as in the sentence I have trouble differentiating Jane Austen's heroines; I realized I had conflated Elizabeth Bennet and Emma Woodhouse into a single character in my mind. In our 2015 survey, 87 percent of the Usage Panelists accepted this traditional usage. Recently, a new sense for conflate has emerged, meaning "To mistake one thing for another," as if it were a synonym for confuse. In 2015, our usage panelists found this new sense to be marginally acceptable, with 55 percent accepting the sentence People often conflate the national debt with the federal deficit; when the senator talked about reducing the debt, he was actually referring to the deficit.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

con•fla•tion

(kənˈfleɪ ʃən)

n.

1. the process or result of fusing items into one entity; fusion; amalgamation.

2. a text formed by combining two variant texts.

[1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin]

Translations

conflation

[kənˈfleɪʃən] N → combinación f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

conflation

n → Zusammenfassung f

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

'HIV is not a death sentence,' said Bilawal in a tweet adding that, 'the conflation of HIV and AIDS is fueling stigmatisation of the most vulnerable people in Pakistan.'

HIV not a death sentence: Bilawal

The conflation of HIV and AIDS is fueling stigmatization of the most vulnerable people in Pakistan.

HIV is not a death punishment, it can be treated: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari

Increasingly, as Catholics process the reality of the clergy sex abuse scandal, we hear both clergy and lay Catholics blame the scandal on homosexuality The conflation of homosexuality and clergy sexual abuse is, I believe, deliberate and cynical.

Not the same

They appreciated the conflation of various emergency response helplines, under a universal SOS number 15, in-line with international standards and practices.

Corps of Military Police visits PPIC3

Using patent pending bandwidth shaping and market data conflation mechanisms, NovaTick is able to conform to the networks' limitations.

NovaSparks introduces optimized market data distribution

I also believe that this conflation leads them to 1) try to tutor in an exclusively non-directive manner and/or 2) feel guilty when they cannot sustain non-directive assistance in a session.

Strategy-Centered or Student-Centered: A Meditation on Conflation

The conflation of 'countryside' with 'cruelty' must stop."

Sir Ranulph in U-turn on fox hunting

The conflation of 'rule of law' with 'law and order' thus has colonial origins.

Opposing the rule of law. How Myanmar's courts make law and order

Ms Eagle said immigration was "an issue of concern" for voters but said there had been "some conflation between the issue of cuts in public spending" which has seen councils such as Liverpool hit hard by reduced funding from the Government, leading to reduced services.

Mersey MP slams 'vile' Ukip poster; NEWS WIRE

The opening image reveals the conflation of beauty and ugliness as seen in the desolation and wreck-The age as shown on Dupont Street.