as in confuses
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
irrelevant matters that only serve to obfuscate the fundamental issue of guilt or innocence
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Recent Examples of obfuscates
His bad-boy swagger externally obfuscates his heart of gold, but his goodness and morality are apparent.
—
Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
The president obfuscates or lies; the press contradicts him; the Pentagon’s own investigators find against him; senators of both parties demand answers; and the polls turn against the war.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 27 May 2026
Director Antonio Campos shoots this exchange in the shadows, a choice that only obfuscates this pivotal moment further.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
Local students tend to know about the province’s nationalistic perspective, due to their high school curriculum, but this deliberately (and understandably) obfuscates the larger Canadian picture to try to foster a firmer attachment to Quebec’s language and culture.
—Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Gating much of that control behind certain subscription tiers further obfuscates what’s possible.
—PC Magazine, 2 Sep. 2025
Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026
The president obfuscates or lies; the press contradicts him; the Pentagon’s own investigators find against him; senators of both parties demand answers; and the polls turn against the war.
—Bobby Ghosh, Time, 27 May 2026
Director Antonio Campos shoots this exchange in the shadows, a choice that only obfuscates this pivotal moment further.
—Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 14 Nov. 2025
Local students tend to know about the province’s nationalistic perspective, due to their high school curriculum, but this deliberately (and understandably) obfuscates the larger Canadian picture to try to foster a firmer attachment to Quebec’s language and culture.
—Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Gating much of that control behind certain subscription tiers further obfuscates what’s possible.
—PC Magazine, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obfuscates
Verb
-
The whole concept of toxic fandom confuses me because, outside of the anger and backwards thinking, because who cares about a movie franchise that much?—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
4 June 2026
-
The herb’s fragrance confuses and deters pests from eating your peppers.—
Sheryl Geerts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
3 June 2026
Verb
-
This beefy laptop blurs the line between an elite mobile gaming rig and a local-AI workstation.—
John Burek,
PC Magazine,
29 May 2026
-
That doctrine blurs the line between soldier and civilian.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obfuscates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obfuscates. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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