Obfuscated Definition & Meaning

Other Words from obfuscate

obfuscation \ ˌäb-(ˌ)fə-ˈskā-shən

\ noun

obfuscatory \ äb-ˈfə-skə-ˌtȯr-ē

, əb- \ adjective

Examples of obfuscate in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web Overall, Minnesota boasts the highest percentage of students who meet the reading benchmark in the country and the third-highest for math — driven by the high marks of White students — which can obfuscate these racial disparities. — Washington Post, 9 May 2022 Nonetheless, the bill was named the Affordable Care Act, and Barack Obama and his allies spent much of the debate trying to obfuscate the issue of premiums. — Philip Klein, National Review, 25 Mar. 2022 Jenkins uses emotional and cultural arguments, as well as outlier athletic examples, to obfuscate the fact that as a group, men have a biological advantage in athletic competition. — Jenna Stocker, National Review, 24 Mar. 2022 Some of these women have medical conditions that obfuscate their pregnancy symptoms; in other cases, the signs were clearly there. — Danielle Lindemann, The Atlantic, 13 Feb. 2022 Though Rabin attempts to obfuscate and undermine it, significant research suggests that the fetal heartbeat is a helpful marker of health. — Alexandra Desanctis, National Review, 14 Feb. 2022 Don’t let Auburn’s failed quest to throw Harsin overboard obfuscate the issues raised last week by people who were part of the program in 2021. — Blake Toppmeyer, USA TODAY, 12 Feb. 2022 There’s no mechanism in place to prevent launderers from creating multiple accounts and transferring assets between them to further obfuscate the trail. — Martin Cheek, Fortune, 11 Feb. 2022 Rather than be transparent with Committee Republicans, HHS and NIH have chosen to hide, obfuscate, and shield the truth. — James Freeman, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'obfuscate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for obfuscate

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

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