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 : hide

Moisture caused minerals in the stone and brick walls to rise up and obfuscate the frescoes with a thin coating of white salts.

—Elizabeth Helman Minchilli

… the strong performance of the few can obfuscate the mediocrity of the many.

—Christopher Lynch

… he decides not to obfuscate his past in order to protect his success.

—Judith Martin

c

: to make more difficult to understand

In response to some of the most pointed queries, the company offered replies that obfuscated the issues.

—Colin Lecher

2

: confuse

The story was so lengthy and wordy that it obfuscated 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.

Synonyms of obfuscate

• confuse

Examples of obfuscate in a Sentence

Politicians keep obfuscating the issues.

Their explanations only serve to obfuscate and confuse.

Recent Examples on the Web

The situation has sparked backlash from lawmakers, who say the administration is obfuscating the casualty count and is trying to skirt the 60-day limit on military action without congressional authorization by rebranding the war. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 24 July 2026

In theory, the matchmaker GM brokering a three-team trade could try to play both sides and obfuscate who’s getting what in the trade. — Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 23 July 2026

The model was initially blocked from accessing the backend, but then found a way to obfuscate its authentication token, preventing an OpenAI scanner from stopping the access. — Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 July 2026

In Eddington, Aster examines the absurdity of our present moment, further obfuscated by its mediation through screens. — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 15 July 2026

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 1b

Rhymes for obfuscate

• abdicate
• abrogate
• acetate
• activate
• actuate
• aggravate
• agitate
• alginate
• alienate
• allocate
• amputate
• angulate

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