obfuscate
/ˈɒbfəskeɪt/
"obfuscate" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“obfuscate” is uncommon English (frequency #68,493 among 1,431 “O” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #68,493
- frequency rank, English
- 1,431
- “O” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - To make dark; to overshadow.
Corpus desk
Index EN-obfuscate · obfuscate · English
obfuscate · rank #68,493 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #68,493
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 1,431
- PHOTO-FINISH nyan
Nearest frequency peer: nyan (-3 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Frequency neighbourhood for “obfuscate”
Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)
- niet
niet
31,517 corpus weight
- nondiscrimi…
nondiscrimination
31,514 corpus weight
- nyan
nyan
31,511 corpus weight
- obfuscate
obfuscate
31,508 corpus weight
- officialdom
officialdom
31,505 corpus weight
- onboarding
onboarding
31,503 corpus weight
What this shows Bars show where “obfuscate” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | obfuscate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɒbfəskeɪt/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #68,493 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “obfuscate” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
obfuscate is uncommon English at frequency #68,493 among 1,431 “O” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈɒbfəskeɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.
No generated misspelling entries exist for obfuscate in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: 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, … The correct English form is obfuscate, spelled O-B-F-U-S-C-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To make dark; to overshadow.
- 2To deliberately make more confusing in order to conceal the truth.
- 3To alter code while preserving its behavior but concealing its structure and intent.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how obfuscate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
obfuscate facts
Can weakness be really obfuscated?
Etymology
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”).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "obfuscate", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.