obfuscate

verb

ob·​fus·​cate ˈäb-fə-ˌskāt 

äb-ˈfə-ˌskāt,

əb-

obfuscated; obfuscating

transitive verb

1

a

: to throw into shadow : darken

b

: to make obscure

obfuscate the issue

officials who … continue to obscure and obfuscate what happened

—Mary Carroll

2

: confuse

obfuscate the reader

intransitive verb

: to be evasive, unclear, or confusing

The suspect often obfuscated during the interrogation.

obfuscation

ˌäb-(ˌ)fə-ˈskā-shən 

noun

obfuscatory

äb-ˈfə-skə-ˌtȯr-ē 

əb-

adjective

Did you know?

Try to Understand the Roots of Obfuscate

Obfuscate comes from the Latin prefix ob- (meaning "over" or "completely") and fuscus ("dark-colored"). That fact gives an idea as to how the word can refer to making something difficult to see or understand—much like how dark, dirty water makes it hard to see the bottom.

Synonyms

• becloud
• befog
• blur
• cloud
• confuse
• fog
• muddy

Examples of obfuscate in a Sentence

Politicians keep obfuscating the issues.

Their explanations only serve to obfuscate and confuse.

Recent Examples on the Web

As mentioned earlier, free users also have massive, highly intrusive ad banners to contend with, further obfuscating your search results. —PCMAG, 5 June 2024

Tribal has become impossible to follow, the subterfuge and whispering nearly obfuscating the reason the person who leaves got voted out in the first place. —Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 May 2024

Policymakers must acknowledge those tensions instead of obfuscating them if their goal is to manage risk, not just minimize it. —Anthea Roberts, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023

Trump’s capriciousness obfuscated his complex brew of personal business interests with genuine U.S. commercial and national security priorities. —Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 29 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Late Latin obfuscātus, offuscātus, past participle of obfuscāre, offuscāre "to obscure, darken, depreciate," from Latin ob-, perfective prefix + -fuscāre, verbal derivative of fuscus "dark-colored, somber, dark-skinned or -complected" — more at ob-, dusk entry 1

First Known Use

1536, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

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