Here confounded is not a thinking word. It is an annoyed word. You stick it in front of a thing that is driving you mad: this confounded computer, that confounded noise. It is a mild, rather old-fashioned way of swearing without using a truly rude word — closer to 'that stupid…' or 'blasted' than to a dictionary note about mixing things up. Grandparents and characters in older books use it more than young people on a bus. Though actually, there is another confounded that means 'very mixed up in the head,' but that is not this use. This one is almost only there to show you are fed up.