Obfuscation

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən

Origin

From Latin obfuscationem (15th century), from obfuscāre ("to darken"), from ob ("over") + fuscāre ("to make dark"), from fuscus ("dark").

Full definition of obfuscation

Noun

1. (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.
2. (uncountable) Confusion, bewilderment, or a baffled state resulting from something obfuscated, or made more opaque and muddled with the intent to obscure information.
3. (countable) 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.
4. (computing, uncountable) The option to alter computer code, preserving its behavior but concealing its structure and intent.You need to turn on obfuscation for these classes.

Related terms

• obfuscate
• obfuscatory