obfuscate

• POS: Verb (transitive)
• HYPHEN: ob=fus=cate

CIDE DICTIONARY

obfuscate, a. [L. obfuscatus, p. p. of obfuscare to darken; ob (see Ob-) + fuscare, fuscatum, to darken, from fuscus dark.].

 Obfuscated; darkened; obscured.  Sir. T. Elyot.  [1913 Webster]

obfuscate, v. t. 

•  To darken; to obscure; to becloud.  [1913 Webster]
•  To confuse; to bewilder; to make unclear.  [1913 Webster]

  "His head, like a smokejack, the funnel unswept, and the ideas whirling round and round about in it, all obfuscated and darkened over with fuliginous matter."  [1913 Webster]

  "Clouds of passion which might obfuscate the intellects of meaner females."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

obfuscate, v.tr.
1 obscure or confuse (a mind, topic, etc.).
2 stupefy, bewilder.

Derivative

obfuscation n. obfuscatory adj.

Etymology

LL obfuscare (as OB-, fuscus dark)

THESAURUS

obfuscate

adumbrate, becloud, bedarken, bedim, befog, begloom, black, black out, blacken, blanket, blind, block the light, blot out, blur, brown, camouflage, cast a shadow, cloak, cloud, cloud over, complicate, conceal, confuse, corrupt, cover, cover up, curtain, darken, darken over, deform, dim, dim out, disguise, disorder, dissemble, distort, distract attention from, eclipse, encloud, encompass with shadow, ensconce, enshroud, envelop, fog up, garble, gloom, gloss over, hide, jumble, keep under cover, make unintelligible, mask, mess up, misadvise, misdirect, miseducate, misguide, misinform, misinstruct, mislead, misteach, muddle, murk, mystify, obnubilate, obscure, obumbrate, occult, occultate, overcast, overcloud, overshadow, pervert, scramble, screen, shade, shadow, shroud, slur over, somber, unform, unshape, varnish, veil, whitewash

ROGET THESAURUS

obfuscate

Darkness

VB be dark, darken, obscure, shade, dim, tone down, lower, overcast, overshadow, eclipse, obfuscate, offuscate, obumbrate, adumbrate, cast into the shade becloud, bedim, bedarken, cast a shade, throw a shade, spread a shade, cast a shadow, cast a gloom, throw a shadow, spread a shadow, cast gloom, throw gloom, spread gloom, extinguish, put out, blow out, snuff out, doubt, turn out the lights, douse the lights, dim the lights, turn off the lights, switch off the lights.

Opacity

VB be opaque, obstruct the passage of light, obfuscate, offuscate.