obfuscation

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obfuscation

  • /ˌɒb.fəˈskeɪ.ʃən/ UK
  • /ˌɑb.fəˈskeɪ.ʃən/ US, dialectal
  • /ˌɒb.fəˈskeɪ.ʃən/ Canada, dialectal
  • /ˌɔb.fəˈskæɪ.ʃən/ Australia
  • /ˌɒb.fəˈskæɪ.ʃən/ New Zealand
  • [ˌɔ̟b.fəˈskæɪ.ʃən] New Zealand

Rhymes with -eɪʃən

Where it comes from

From Middle English obfuscacioun, from Latin obfuscātiō, obfuscātiōnem, from obfuscāre (“to darken”), from ob (“over”) + fuscāre (“to make dark”), from fuscus (“dark”).

noun obfuscations

  1. formal, uncountable The act or process of obfuscating, or obscuring the perception of something; the concept of concealing the meaning of a communication by making it more confusing and harder to interpret. Until the 1920s, American newspapers heavily relied upon their London correspondents, the British Press and Reuters (which had a mutually beneficial, monopoly agreement with the Government of India for preferential access) for news about India. The news was hence generally from the British perspecti
  2. formal, uncountable The alteration of computer code to preserve its behavior while concealing its structure and intent. You need to turn on obfuscation for these classes.
  3. formal, uncountable Confusion, bewilderment, or a baffled state resulting from something obfuscated, or made more opaque and muddled with the intent to obscure information.
  4. countable, formal A single instance of intentionally obscuring the meaning of something to make it more difficult to grasp. During the debate, the candidate sighed at his opponent's obfuscations.

Translations

Every language

noun act or process of obfuscating, or obscuring the perception of something

Portuguêsofuscamento
Françaisobscurcissement
DeutschVerdunkelung, Vernebelung, Verschleierung
Ελληνικάσυσκότιση syskótisi
العربيةتَشْوِيش tašwīš

noun alter computer code, preserving its behavior but concealing its structure and intent

Françaisobfuscation
DeutschEntstellung
العربيةتَعْتِيم taʕtīm

noun confusion, bewilderment, or a baffled state resulting from something obfuscated

Portuguêsofuscamento
DeutschVerdunkelung, Vernebelung
Ελληνικάσυσκότιση syskótisi, σύγχυση sýnchysi

noun intentionally obscuring the meaning of something to make it more difficult to grasp

Portuguêsofuscamento
DeutschVernebelung, Verschleierung
Ελληνικάθόλωση thólosi

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Cite this
MLA

"obfuscation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/obfuscation. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

obfuscation. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/obfuscation

Chicago

"obfuscation." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/obfuscation.

BibTeX
@misc{obfuscation_2026,
  title = {obfuscation},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/obfuscation},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}