obfuscate

American  

[ob-fuh-skeyt, ob-fuhs-keyt] / ˈɒb fəˌskeɪt, ɒbˈfʌs keɪt /

verb (used with object)

obfuscated, obfuscating

1. to make unclear or hard to understand, especially deliberately.

   Do not obfuscate the issue with irrelevant detail.

   Synonyms:

   muddy, cloud

2. to confuse or bewilder.

   The authors achieve their purpose without obfuscating the reader by using too much technical terminology.

   Synonyms:

   perplex, muddle

   Antonyms:

   illuminate, clarify

3. to darken.

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verb (used without object)

obfuscated, obfuscating

1. to make something unclear or hard to understand, especially deliberately; speak or write evasively or obscurely.

   Notice how she obfuscates when asked directly about her conversations with the defendant.

obfuscate British  

/ ˈɒbfʌsˌkeɪt /

verb

1. to obscure or darken

2. to perplex or bewilder

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Other Word Forms

• obfuscation noun
• obfuscatory adjective
• unobfuscated adjective

Etymology

Origin of obfuscate

First recorded in 1525–35; from Late Latin obfuscātus “darkened,” past participle of obfuscāre “to darken,” from Latin ob- ob- + fusc(us) “dark” + -āre, infinitive suffix

Example Sentences

DiNanno said the Chinese military “sought to conceal testing by obfuscating the nuclear explosions because it recognized these tests violate test ban commitments.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The bill acknowledges that mixers “obfuscate or eliminate the source or other forms of identification of a digital asset,” but just directs regulators to study whether they pose illicit-finance risks.

From Barron's

Lawyers for the group contend the city is willfully obfuscating to cover up its inadequate efforts to live up to its settlement.

From Los Angeles Times

Google recently detected an even bigger threat in the wild: bot-enabled software that can obfuscate its own code to evade detection and create new malicious capabilities on the fly.

From The Wall Street Journal

“I was completely OK with it,” she said, adding that the final report “did not in any way obfuscate anything.”

From Los Angeles Times