conflate
UK[kənˈfleɪt]US[kənˈfleɪt]
v
to combine two or more ideas, pieces of information, etc. into one, often in a way that is confusing or misleading
v
to merge or blend different things together
Morpheme Breakdown
con
flate
con
together
flate
blow
Etymology
the word "conflate" originates from the latin verb conflare, meaning "to blow together, to fuse". this verb is a compound of the prefix con- (together) and flare (to blow). the literal image is of melting metals or fusing materials by blowing air onto them, causing them to flow together. over time, this physical sense of merging through a blowing process evolved into the modern abstract meaning of blending or combining information, ideas, or texts into a single, often indistinct, whole.
Analysis
Structure: con (together) + flate (blow)
- con: a latin prefix meaning "together, with".
- flate: from the latin root flat-, meaning "to blow", from the verb flare.
Examples
it is easy to conflate the two separate historical events into a single narrative.
critics argue that the report conflates correlation with causation.
different versions of the legend were conflated over centuries to form the story we know today.