as in confusing
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 obfuscating
The state says the foundation did this because Aerial Recovery, the nonprofit, had been obfuscating its name.
—
Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025
Some data types can be encrypted randomly, obfuscating enough of the data to stymie hackers—such as using only the last four digits of your credit to confirm your purchase identity.
—Srinivas Shekar, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Evan Mealins, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025
Some data types can be encrypted randomly, obfuscating enough of the data to stymie hackers—such as using only the last four digits of your credit to confirm your purchase identity.
—Srinivas Shekar, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obfuscating
Verb
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Perplexity’s image features photographs of people with some truly nightmarish distortions on its wall, while the placement of its sink is confusing and distracting.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
25 Oct. 2025
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This was out of respect for me, and also to avoid confusing the children.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
23 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The almost imperceptible pigment is an immediate boost of pore- and fine line-blurring prowess.—
Tamim Alnuweiri,
InStyle,
6 Jan. 2026
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Among other things, conservatives accused the consultancy of operating as a multibillion-dollar dark money ATM for left-wing causes, allowing foreign money to flow into American politics, and blurring the lines between charitable work and political advocacy.—
Robert Schmad,
The Washington Examiner,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Injuries are muddying the market for players such as Coby White, who has played fewer than half of the games this season because of recurring calf injuries.—
Colleen Kane,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Jan. 2026
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But seen another way, this release is also optimally confusing, muddying the waters with as-yet-unverified information that’s being disseminated via individual screenshots on social media, making the whole thing easier to dismiss.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
23 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Obfuscating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obfuscating. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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