What does obfuscate mean?
Word: Obfuscate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Obfuscate means to make a message or idea confusing and hard to follow, often on purpose.
Synonyms: obscure, cloud
Antonyms: simplify
How do you spell obfuscate?
Syllables: ob - fus - cate
Tricky part: The b before the f is the letter that vanishes. Said quickly, the two sounds blur together, so pupils write a word that starts with of or off.
Watch out for: ofuscate, offuscate
Memory tip: The word acts out its own meaning: the b hides in the shadow of the f, just as a writer hides a plain idea behind long words.
Obfuscate in a sentence
Example 1: The instructions used so much jargon that they seemed designed to obfuscate the rules of the game.
Example 2: A good science teacher will never obfuscate a simple idea with needless technical terms.
Example 3: Please answer the question directly and do not obfuscate the facts with long stories.
Fun Fact
The Latin word behind obfuscate meant darkened. Today programmers use the word for scrambling the names and layout of their code so that other people struggle to read it, although the computer still runs it.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
obf_sc_te
a) u, a
b) a, a
c) u, e
d) a, e
Show answer
a) u, a. Say it aloud: the middle vowel is a clear u, and the verb closes like hesitate.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Too many long words will cetoaubsf even a simple notice about the school trip.
a) oscillate
b) officiate
c) obfuscate
d) fabricate
Show answer
c) obfuscate. Fabricate has an r and officiate two i's, while oscillate has no f, so only one verb fits these letters.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. elaberate 2. metafore 3. obfuscate 4. ambigous
a) a phrase that speaks of one thing as another
b) worked out in great and careful detail
c) having more than one possible sense
d) to hide plain sense behind muddled words
Show answer
d) to hide plain sense behind muddled words. Ambiguous keeps a u before the ous, elaborate has an o after the b, and metaphor stops at the r.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word obfuscate as used in the sentence:
The company's long letter seemed to obfuscate the real reason for the delay.
a) complicate
b) disguise
c) clarify
d) bewilder
Show answer
c) clarify. To clarify is to make something easy to understand, the reverse of what the long letter did.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which shopkeeper is trying to obfuscate?
a) one who writes the price in large, clear figures
b) one who hands out a printed list of the day's prices
c) one who buries the price in pages of vague terms
d) one who tells customers the price straight away
Show answer
c) one who buries the price in pages of vague terms
2. A writer who wants to avoid obfuscation should ____
a) add more footnotes and rare words
b) write every line in the passive voice
c) repeat each point in a new way
d) use plain words and short sentences
Show answer
d) use plain words and short sentences
