obsfucation 

To totally obscure with non-germane information in a verbose manner, with the intent to provide a non-answer, and provide total befuddlement.

Any politician worth his salt is an artist in obsfucation.

Government bureaucrats are masters of obsfucatory behavior.

obsfucation by Christopher Chavasse September 14, 2007

obfuscation 

the action of making something obscure, unclear, or unintelligible in order to deceive how someone may read something, similar to catfishing

Hacking obfuscation caused my computer to get a virus because I clicked on a link for payppal.com instead of paypal.com

obfuscation by destinationnowhere September 11, 2018

Eschew Obfuscation, Espouse Elucidation 

An ironic statement that means avoid ambiguity and adopt clarity. It's ironic because it is hypocritical.

Instead of saying eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation, Mary just told us to avoid confusion and be clear.

Eschew Obfuscation, Espouse Elucidation by Alicat III November 6, 2009

Obfuscation by initialism 

To cloud, confuse, or mislead by extensive use of initialisms (abbreviations using initial letters pronounced separately).

Jim's statement was ridiculous, all he did was practice obfuscation by initialism. "FYI, tell the CEO we will achieve incredible growth with our OEM by defining the SOP in SAP ECC and using sCRM."

Obfuscation by initialism by Urchingoat September 25, 2010

obfuscation 

A dance move created by North Carolina band Between the Buried and Me. This involves closing one eye, and stepping to the side.

By the end of Mirrors, I was already ready to do the obfuscation.

obfuscation by byzorko October 21, 2010

Melano-Obfuscation

A sociopolitical tactic and psychological posture used to protect dominant power structures by clouding discussions of race, often through deflection, false equivalence, or the erasure of historical context.

“Melano-obfuscation thrives when people refuse to connect history to present inequality.”

Melano-Obfuscation by Riefy Prescott April 20, 2026

Bad-Faith Obfuscation (noun)

A debate tactic in which an individual deliberately creates confusion, misrepresents previous statements, removes relevant comments, or distorts the discussion to evade accountability, avoid conceding an argument, and manufacture the appearance of victory.

Example: “That’s a clear case of Bad-Faith Obfuscation (noun). You deleted your previous comments, attributed statements to me that I never made, and distorted the original discussion until it became difficult to establish what was actually said. You then exploited that confusion to declare yourself the winner.”

Bad-Faith Obfuscation (noun) by Mr_word November 4, 2026