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obfuscate

[ ob-fuh-skeyt, ob-fuhs-keyt ]
/ ˈɒb fəˌskeɪt, ɒbˈfʌs keɪt /
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verb (used with object), ob·fus·cat·ed, ob·fus·cat·ing.

to confuse, bewilder, or stupefy.
to make obscure or unclear: to obfuscate a problem with extraneous information.
to darken.

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RELATED WORDS

baffle, complicate, perplex, bewilder, conceal, befuddle, puzzle, muddle, confound, rattle, fog, becloud, obscure, darken, cloud, fuddle

Nearby words

  1. obese,
  2. obesity,
  3. obesogenic,
  4. obex,
  5. obey,
  6. obfuscation,
  7. obi,
  8. obie,
  9. obiit,
  10. obit

Origin of obfuscate

1525–35; < Late Latin obfuscātus (past participle of obfuscāre to darken), equivalent to Latin ob- ob- + fusc(us) dark + -ātus -ate1
ANTONYMS FOR obfuscate
1. clarify.
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Related formsob·fus·ca·tion, nounob·fus·ca·to·ry [ob-fuhs-kuh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ɒbˈfʌs kəˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectiveun·ob·fus·cat·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for obfuscate

obfuscate

/ (ˈɒbfʌsˌkeɪt) /

verb (tr)

to obscure or darken
to perplex or bewilder
Derived Formsobfuscatory, adjective

Word Origin for obfuscate

C16: from Latin ob- (intensive) + fuscāre to blacken, from fuscus dark
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
Word Origin and History for obfuscate

obfuscate

v.

1530s, from Latin obfuscatus, past participle of obfuscare "to darken," from ob "over" (see ob-) + fuscare "to make dark," from fuscus "dark" (see dusk). Related: Obfuscated; obfuscating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper