1
as in to confuse
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
don't becloud the discussion by raising unrelated issues
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
the smog from the city's steel mills was once so oppressive that it beclouded the local landscape even at noon
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of becloud
But instead of sounding the alarm, defendants went out of their way to becloud the emerging scientific consensus.
—
Edward Fitzpatrick, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2019
His flacks and surrogates hand out scraps of information grudgingly, infrequently, and beclouded by fragrant eructations of doublespeak.
—Charles Seife, Slate Magazine, 1 Mar. 2017
Edward Fitzpatrick, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Aug. 2019
His flacks and surrogates hand out scraps of information grudgingly, infrequently, and beclouded by fragrant eructations of doublespeak.
—Charles Seife, Slate Magazine, 1 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for becloud
Verb
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The 40-year-old cooks up ways to make quarterbacks miserable in his sleep, devising schemes that are meant to lure as much as they are intended to confuse.—
Dana O’Neil,
CNN Money,
10 Jan. 2026
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Canales-Pelaez said that local departments may be confusing administrative warrants with criminal ones, or overcomplying to avoid backlash from the state Legislature.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The regime imposed an internet blackout to obscure the scale of violence, and has admitted to around 2,000 deaths.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
20 Jan. 2026
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Where classifications obscure meaningful differences, the risk is that regulation becomes either overinclusive or ineffective, imposing burdens that do not address actual risks while failing to account for those that do.—
Susie Violet Ward,
Forbes.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Instead, DeSantis unleashed a rambling recap of the past seven years, with plenty of unsourced statistics, claims of victory that aren’t supported by reality, and wording often designed to obfuscate the most controversial parts of his tenure.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Jan. 2026
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Though some investors like lottery winner Edwin Castro have made headlines by purchasing multiple lots, the process is largely opaque and the names of the buyers are obfuscated by limited liability companies, or LLCs, Fairweather said.—
Terry Castleman,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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At these delightfully divey watering holes, every visible surface is covered in dollars scribbled with the initials, anniversaries, hometowns, inside jokes, dates, or names of anyone who has darkened the doors of that particular bar over the past fifty years—or maybe just the past week.—
Skye Sherman,
Southern Living,
21 Jan. 2026
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Back then, Vine jokes, Harambe memes, and Snapchat filters could sweep through timelines in a way that made the internet feel weirdly communal, even as politics darkened the horizon.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But that should not cloud the fact that Miami would not have been in the national title game without him.—
Adam Lichtenstein,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Jan. 2026
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The process lifts the low frequencies without clouding the midrange, tailoring the sound to the headphones and the listener’s personal preference.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes.com,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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About Modern Work Spaces Hackl says that efficient workflows are still the primary goal, but the concept has changed in a way that blurs the lines of the classic three-sided shape.—
Kristina McGuirk,
Better Homes & Gardens,
10 Jan. 2026
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Their guests are capitalizing on the clout economy, where the line between influencer and entrepreneur is blurred and attention is the most valuable asset.—
Julia Black,
Vanity Fair,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In all, more than 8,000 California wildfires blackened 525,223 acres, killed 31 people and burned 16,512 structures in the past year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.—
Don Sweeney,
Sacbee.com,
8 Jan. 2026
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While old shoes washing ashore might sound unique, this isn’t the first time that these leather shoes — well-preserved and blackened with time — have been found in the area.—
Jaden Thompson,
Footwear News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Becloud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/becloud. Accessed 23 Jan. 2026.
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