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
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
Sometimes, Death in the Family seems to be saying that our attempt to assign deeper meanings to acts of violence obfuscates how mean or petty human nature can be.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Oct. 2025
Gating much of that control behind certain subscription tiers further obfuscates what’s possible.
—PC Magazine, 2 Sep. 2025
Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
Sometimes, Death in the Family seems to be saying that our attempt to assign deeper meanings to acts of violence obfuscates how mean or petty human nature can be.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 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 Longhorns’ roster build confuses me.—
The Athletic College Basketball Staff,
New York Times,
3 Nov. 2025
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At her spring show, Marie-Adam Leenaerdt brought back the style, but her shiny spandex stocking version ensures no one confuses the look for child’s play.—
Laia Garcia-Furtado,
Vogue,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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What starts as a cathartic process spirals out-of-control, as the line between justice and madness blurs.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
6 Nov. 2025
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Best Hotels & Resorts The Calile Hotel Designed by acclaimed architects Richards and Spence, The Calile’s 175 rooms are framed by subtropical landscaping that blurs the line between indoors and out.—
Alli Forde,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obfuscates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obfuscates. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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