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Obfuscate: meaning, example and synonyms

Obfuscatev. To make something unclear or difficult to understand, often on purpose.

Flashcard for Obfuscate (verb): to make something unclear or difficult to understand, often on purpose. Example: Critics argued that the company's annual report obfuscated its mounting debts by scattering the relevant figures across dozens of footnotes and appendices. Synonyms: obscure, muddle, confuse, cloud. Antonyms: clarify, illuminate, elucidate. Memory tip: Obfuscate = fog it up so no one can see the meaning. Illustration: a man in a gray suit blowing a cloud of gray fog over a stack of blank papers on a desk while a woman across from him squints to see them.

Example

Critics argued that the company's annual report obfuscated its mounting debts by scattering the relevant figures across dozens of footnotes and appendices.

Part of speech
verb
Synonyms
obscure, muddle, confuse, cloud
Antonyms
clarify, illuminate, elucidate
Memory tip
Obfuscate = fog it up so no one can see the meaning.

Obfuscate is in batch 18. Study it with the rest of the batch, then pass the batch quiz to learn it. No account needed; progress is saved on this device.

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Check yourself: Obfuscate in context

Pick the word that best completes each text.

Question 1

Rather than answer the reporter's direct question, the spokesman chose to ______ the issue, burying it under so much technical jargon that the audience lost track of what had been asked.

Question 2

Medieval alchemists sometimes ______ their recipes deliberately, writing them in riddles and symbols so that only fellow initiates could understand them.

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