ScienceJuly 31, 2026

obfuscation

OB-fuh-SKAY-shun

Definition

The act of making something unclear, opaque, or deliberately difficult to understand.

Etymology

The word comes from the Latin 'obfuscare,' meaning 'to darken,' formed by combining 'ob-' (over) and 'fuscus' (dark). It entered English in the 16th century via Middle French.

In the news

The word describes the deliberate polluting of information environments, where strategic claims are intentionally made difficult for analysts to verify or understand.

Measuring Geopolitical Saturation: Satellite Verification Ve

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