conflates

Conflates is the third-person singular present tense of the verb conflate. To conflate means to combine two or more distinct ideas, texts, or elements into a single whole, often in a way that blurs or erases important differences. The term is widely used in literary analysis, journalism, philosophy, and everyday speech to describe a fusion or oversimplification of separate concepts. The noun form conflation refers to the act or result of conflating.

Etymology and usage notes: Conflate derives from Latin con- "together" and flare "to blow," by way of English development that treats merging as blending elements into one. In scholarly writing, readers are cautioned to avoid conflation when precise distinctions are essential, such as separating correlation from causation or distinguishing hypothesis from theory.

Examples and cautions: The article conflates two different historical movements, which leads to a misleading summary. In contrast, good analysis explicitly distinguishes the separate components and avoids conflation.

See also: conflation, misattribution, synthesis.