Compounded
kəmˈpaʊndɪd
Definitions
2 meaningsTo make (something bad) worse; to exacerbate or intensify.
kəmˈpaʊndɪd
To make something worse; to intensify.
The rain compounded the difficulty of the hike.
💡 Simply: Imagine your friend is already feeling bad, and then someone tells them even MORE bad news. Compounding is like adding extra badness to something that's already not good.
👶 For kids: Making something bad even worse!
More Examples
The injury was compounded by a lack of medical attention.
Her problems were compounded by a series of unfortunate events.
How It's Used
"The economic downturn compounded the company's financial difficulties."
"His anger was compounded by her lack of remorse."
To combine or constitute; to mix or put together (elements, ingredients, or other things) to form a whole; to make up.
kəmˈpaʊndɪd
To combine or create by combining.
The ingredients were compounded to create the final product.
💡 Simply: Imagine you are mixing different things together to make something new, like mixing ingredients to bake a cake. It's like combining things.
👶 For kids: Putting things together to make something new!
More Examples
The lawyer compounded his client's issues by revealing sensitive information.
The bank offers interest that is compounded annually.
How It's Used
"The chemist compounded the new drug from various elements."
"Interest is compounded annually."
From Middle English compounen, from Old French componre (“to compose, put together”), from Latin componere (“to put together”), from com- (“with, together”) + ponere (“to put, place”).
Historically, "compounded" has been used both in the context of making things worse and in forming something new or complex, with earlier usages focused more on combining or mixing.
Memory tip
Imagine you're adding more ingredients to a bad situation to make it extra awful—compounding it.