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Synonyms

befog

American  
[bih-fog, -fawg] / bɪˈfɒg, -ˈfɔg /

verb (used with object)

befogged, befogging
  1. to envelop in fog or obscurity; becloud.

    Low-hanging clouds befogged the city.

  2. to render unclear; confuse by irrelevancies or distractions.

    Petty differences befogged the legislators' task.

    Synonyms:
    obfuscate, muddle, blur, confound

befog British  
/ bɪˈfɒɡ /

verb

  1. to surround with fog

  2. to make confused, vague, or less clear

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of befog

First recorded in 1595–1605; be- + fog 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

After adding befog, we’ve guessed more than three letters for more than 96 percent of all puzzles we might face in Wordle, in four guesses.

From Slate Feb. 5, 2022

No irrational, misguided sentimentality shall befog my firm conviction that Bob Cousy, while still at Holy Cross, retired the title to "The Greatest."

From Time Magazine Archive

It's just a theory, and good detectives distrust theories, which often befog clever brains.

From Mary Louise Solves a Mystery by L. Frank (Lyman Frank) Baum

The conceptions of Satan and his hosts and surroundings made classical by such as Dante and Milton and Doré have done much to befog the air.

From Quiet Talks on Prayer by S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon

Many tongues were busy with inuendo to belittle what the farmers had accomplished already and to befog their efforts to advance still farther.

From Deep Furrows by Hopkins Moorhouse

Overruling those just to appease your clearly befogged co-parent is a bad habit to get into right as you’re starting this journey.

From Washington Post Nov. 27, 2022

So many years later, the “idealism” of that moment proved to be a mirage, viewed through the befogged lens of hubris, clouded by lies.

From New York Times Oct. 18, 2019

The Steilhang exuded the full gloom of a north face at befogged dawn.

From The New Yorker Apr. 22, 2019

Instead of being buried under documents, befogged by facts, you find yourself in the immediate, proximate, breathing presence of another human being — and there’s suddenly no room for anything else.

From Washington Post

When you shout Durham! the gloomy and befogged financial atmosphere becomes clear and there is a mad rush and scramble for her bonds.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

From the frozen Moscow River, from the Kremlin, and the Cathedral of St. Basil, a vapor rose, clouding the skies and befogging the stars.

From Time Magazine Archive

Yet that could not explain the hypnotism the man had for me, befogging, as it sometimes did, an honest estimate.

From The Best Short Stories of 1921 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story by Edward J. (Edward Joseph Harrington) O'Brien

Instances of this effort to secure an advantage by an adroit befogging of the question will occur to everyone who has followed the discussion of our subject.

From Proceedings of the Second National Conservation Congress at Saint Paul, September 5-8, 1910 by United States. National Conservation Congress

His course stretched before him—through the befogging, unmanning sweetness—to daylight and self-respect and an uncompromising sincerity of life.

From The Torch Bearer by Reina Melcher Marquis

The greatest trouble comes through the befogging emotions.

From Nerves and Common Sense by Annie Payson Call

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