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
When The Star requested records related to ATO being placed on probation last year, the outcome letter KU provided was heavily redacted, completely obfuscating the narrative of the hazing allegations that university investigators found to be credible.
—
Matthew Kelly
april 6, Kansas City Star, 6 Apr. 2026
The renderings, which showed an imposing new East Wing roughly a city block long, would be longer than the West Wing and almost completely obfuscating the view of the Treasury Building from the White House's South Lawn.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Lawyers for the group contend that the city is willfully obfuscating to cover up its inadequate efforts to live up to its settlement.
—Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Matthew Kelly
april 6, Kansas City Star, 6 Apr. 2026
The renderings, which showed an imposing new East Wing roughly a city block long, would be longer than the West Wing and almost completely obfuscating the view of the Treasury Building from the White House's South Lawn.
—Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026
Lawyers for the group contend that the city is willfully obfuscating to cover up its inadequate efforts to live up to its settlement.
—Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for obfuscating
Verb
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Relocating a bird's nest is confusing for the parents, dangerous for the eggs, and, in most cases, against the law.—
Blythe Copeland,
Martha Stewart,
6 June 2026
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Since tickets went on sale last year, there has been ongoing controversy surrounding the cost of attendance, from confusing (and expensive) ticket prices to high transit costs.—
Joe Murphy,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
Verb
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The case exposes a flood of cheaply made, often fraudulent AI tracks on major streaming platforms, siphoning royalties, overwhelming detection systems and blurring the line between fan remix and scam.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2026
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The formula’s blurring effect also helps pores, discoloration, and uneven texture look filtered and less noticeable.—
Sarah Y. Wu,
Glamour,
8 June 2026
Verb
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The company is now at risk of muddying the waters with both, in an effort to keep investors happy.—
Rohan Goswami,
semafor.com,
1 June 2026
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Assets worth at least $1 million — which includes the vast majority of real estate in San Francisco — are also grouped together, further muddying the picture.—
Alyce McFadden,
San Francisco Chronicle,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Obfuscating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/obfuscating. Accessed 13 Jun. 2026.
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