obfuscate

English

WOTD – 6 July 2007

Etymology

The adjective is first attested in 1487, in Middle English, the verb in 1536; either borrowed from Middle French obfusquer, offusquer, from Old French offusquer, or directly from Late Latin obfuscātus, offuscātus, the perfect passive participle of obfuscō, offuscō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin ob- + fuscō (“to darken”). Doublet of dusken (“to darken, make obscure”).

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɒbfəskeɪt/
  • (General American, dialects of Canada) IPA(key): /ˈɑbfəskeɪt/, /ˈɑbfjuskeɪt/
    • Audio (US):(file)
  • (Canada, dialects of the US) IPA(key): /ˈɒbfəskeɪt/
  • (New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈɒbfəskæɪt/, [ˈɔ̟bfəskæɪt]

Verb

obfuscate (third-person singular simple present obfuscates, present participle obfuscating, simple past and past participle obfuscated)

  1. To make dark; to overshadow.
    The squid's ink obfuscated its presence.
  2. To deliberately make more confusing in order to conceal the truth.
    obfuscate facts
    Can weakness be really obfuscated?
    Before leaving the scene, the murderer set a fire in order to obfuscate any evidence of his identity.
    • 2007, Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society, page 99:
      "What does 'obfuscate' mean?" asked Constance.
      Sticky, as if someone pulled a string in his back, promptly answered, "To make so confused or opaque as to be difficult to perceive, or to otherwise render indistinct."
      Constance looked frightened.
      "It means to make things muddled," Reynie said.
    • 2018 February 13, Anonymous White House Official, “White House reels as FBI director contradicts official claims about alleged abuser”, in The Washington Post‎[1], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 July 2025:
      When asked if Kelly could have been more transparent or truthful, that official wrote: “In this White House, it’s simply not in our DNA. Truthful and transparent is great, but we don’t even have a coherent strategy to obfuscate.”
  3. (computing) To alter code while preserving its behavior but concealing its structure and intent.
    We need to obfuscate these classes before we ship the final release.

Conjugation

Conjugation of obfuscate
infinitive (to) obfuscate
present tense past tense
1st-person singular obfuscate obfuscated
2nd-person singular obfuscate, obfuscatest† obfuscated, obfuscatedst†
3rd-person singular obfuscates, obfuscateth† obfuscated
plural obfuscate
subjunctive obfuscate obfuscated
imperative obfuscate —
participles obfuscating obfuscated

† Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (antonym(s) of “to deliberately make more confusing”): explain, simplify

Derived terms

Translations

Adjective

obfuscate (comparative more obfuscate, superlative most obfuscate)

  1. (obsolete) Obfuscated; darkened; obscured.
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