to obfuscate

Examples

• All

• The politician tried to obfuscate his record by presenting misleading statistics.

• When Manny wants to communicate with friends online, he obfuscates his communications using leet (1337) speak.

  Academic text (2015)

• We can create a structure to obfuscate the source.

  Miss Sloane (2016)

• Just not to obfuscate matters.

  A Countess from Hong Kong (1967)

• Option One: Hide what you do; obfuscate when you report.

  Academic text (1998)

• And names will be changed and obfuscated to protect the innocent.

• Are they seeking to confuse and obfuscate the issues?

  Academic text (2018)

• The intent of a referral made under these conditions may become obfuscated by the social worker's potential competing interests.

  Academic text (2001)

• The number of intermarriages is on the rise, obfuscating ethnic differences.

  Academic text (2013)

• Signals may be intended for us to detect, or they may be deliberately obfuscated to thwart accidental detection.

  Academic text (1999)

Synonyms

H

to hide

vsto obfuscate

∞ 1.0

To keep something so others cannot see or understand it

is more about making meaning unclear than simply keeping things out of sight

C

to cover up

vsto obfuscate

314 3.7

To hide something so people cannot see or find out about it

focuses on making information unclear instead of simply keeping it hidden

C

to conceal

vsto obfuscate

282 3.7

To hide something so others cannot see or find it

prefers active obscuring of meaning rather than relying only on secrecy

C

to confuse

vsto obfuscate

266 1.9

Make someone unable to think clearly or make something hard to understand

is used when the difficulty is caused deliberately to obscure understanding

D

to disguise

vsto obfuscate

165 3.4

To change how someone or something looks to hide who they are

alters appearance rather than deliberately confusing content or meaning

O

to obscure

vsto obfuscate

86 7.0

Make something hard to see or understand

is often done deliberately to hide meaning rather than by accident

S

to scramble

vsto obfuscate

• Specialized

85 7.9

Change a message so only the person with the right password can read it

is more general and not limited to encoded technical signals

M

to muddle

vsto obfuscate

33 4.8

Mix things up so they are unclear

is often intentional to hide or confuse meaning rather than accidental

M

to mystify

vsto obfuscate

28 6.5

To make someone confused by making something seem mysterious

is done to hide meaning without making it seem mysterious

G

to garble

vsto obfuscate

8 8.0

To change a message so people cannot understand it

is broader and aims to make meaning unclear beyond just altered speech

B

to blot out

vsto obfuscate

8 5.4

Hide something so you cannot see it or remember it

removes or hides completely rather than merely clouding or confusing meaning

O

to obnubilate

vsto obfuscate

• Archaic

9.9

Make something unclear or hard to understand

is used when the action is done deliberately to confuse meaning

F

to fudge the details

vsto obfuscate

• Informal

7.7

Change facts on purpose to make something seem better

is a broader deliberate action that clouds meaning beyond altering facts

J

to jargonize

vsto obfuscate

8.9

Use technical words that make it hard for others to understand

includes this tactic but also covers other deliberate obscuring methods

M

to muddy up

vsto obfuscate

• Informal

6.7

To make an idea or situation unclear and confusing

can be accidental, whereas the key implies deliberate, purposeful confusion

Antonyms

E

to explain

∞ 1.0

To make something clear by describing it in simple words

C

to clarify

248 3.3

To make something clear so others can understand it

How Obscure

to baffle

65 5.3

to mystify

28 6.5

to obfuscate

• Formal

17 9.1

to confuse

266 1.9

to blur

61 3.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology