obfuscate

verb

ob·fus·cate ˈäb-fə-ˌskāt

äb-ˈfə-ˌskāt,

əb-

obfuscated; obfuscating

Synonyms of obfuscate next

transitive verb

: to throw into shadow : darken

: to make obscure

obfuscate the issue

officials who … continue to obscure and obfuscate what happened—

Mary Carroll

: 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

“Hello darkness, my old friend / I’ve come to talk with you again.” So begins the classic 1960s Simon and Garfunkel song “The Sound of Silence,” which was written by Paul Simon with a seemingly oxymoronic title that has obfuscated—that is, confused—ten thousand people, maybe more (probably a lot more) in the decades since. It confuses us too, but we’re not above being oxymoronic ourselves when we say that darkness, our old friend, shines a helpful light on the meaning of the word obfuscate. When obfuscate first came into use in the early 16th century, it was with the meaning “to throw into shadow.” This makes sense, since the word comes from the Latin obfuscāre (“to obscure or darken”) which itself comes in part from fuscus (“dark-colored”). The word was used for both figurative and literal darkening before developing the even more figurative senses of “to make more difficult to understand,” “to be evasive or unclear,” and “to confuse,” which in modern use are now more common.

Examples of obfuscate in a Sentence

Politicians keep obfuscating the issues. Their explanations only serve to obfuscate and confuse.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Like all of the director’s most memorable settings, the show’s world abided by something closer to dream logic than any earthly science, obfuscating even the most integral developments. —

Emma Stefansky, The Atlantic, 22 Jan. 2025 The idea was to create false corroboration between the stories, as well as to obfuscate their Russian origin. —

Emma Woollacott, Forbes, 2 Jan. 2025 This isn’t the first time the artist has obfuscated accounts of his past: Both his memoir and a 2019 documentary directed by Martin Scorsese blur the line between fact and fantasy. —

Grant Wong, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Dec. 2024 Overly complex affiliate schemes can be used to obfuscate actual earnings. —

Cheryl Robinson, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for obfuscate

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

Time Traveler

The first known use of obfuscate was in 1536

See more words from the same year