obfuscate
/ˈɑbfəskeɪt/verb
obfuscate is spelled O-B-F-U-S-C-A-T-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, obfuscate means “To make dark; to overshadow” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in obfuscate?
| Letters | 9: O-B-F-U-S-C-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 68,248th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is obfuscate?
Obfuscate appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 68,248th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce obfuscate?
- UK /ˈɒbfəskeɪt/
- US /ˈɑbfəskeɪt/
- US /ˈɑbfjuskeɪt/
Obfuscate has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-obfuscate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of obfuscate
- obfuscates present, singular, he/she/it
- obfuscating participle, present
- obfuscated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
- more obfuscate comparative
- most obfuscate superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does obfuscate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To make dark; to overshadow.
- 2
To deliberately make more confusing in order to conceal the truth.
obfuscate facts
- 3
To alter code while preserving its behavior but concealing its structure and intent.
We need to obfuscate these classes before we ship the final release.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteObfuscated; darkened; obscured.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Obfuscate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | obscurcir , embrouiller , occulter |
| German | verfinstern, verdunkeln, dunkel machen , verschleiern , obfuskieren |
| Portuguese | ofuscar |
| Spanish | ofuscar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does obfuscate come from?
The adjective is first attested in 1487, in Middle English, the verb in 1536; either borrowed from Middle French obfusquer, offusquer, from Old French offusquer, or directly from Late Latin obfuscātus, offuscātus, the perfect passive participle of obfuscō, offuscō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from Latin ob- + fuscō (“to darken”). Doublet of dusken (“to darken, make obscure”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).