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
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
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
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The low-performing chefs are Rhoda, whose lamb confuses the kids; Sherry, whose grits were oddly flavored; and Oscar, whose puff pastry soaked up all the deep-fryer oil.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
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Learn about Outside Online's affiliate link policy Go somewhere that confuses your algorithm.—
Kevin Sintumuang,
Outside,
10 Mar. 2026
Verb
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With four hard walls of solid weather protection and available heating and air conditioning, the Altus blurs the line between tent and RV, turning any pickup truck or 4x4 into a comfy camping rig with rock-solid all-season protection.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
22 Apr. 2026
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This blurs the boundaries and risks jeopardizing some of the film and audiovisual industry support.—
Nick Vivarelli,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obfuscates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obfuscates. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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