(v. t.) To mingle and blend, so that different elements can not be distinguished; to confuse.
(v. t.) To mistake for another; to identify falsely.
(v. t.) To throw into confusion or disorder; to perplex; to strike with amazement; to dismay.
(v. t.) To destroy; to ruin; to waste.
Example Sentences:
(1) Previous studies have not always controlled for socioeconomic status (SES) of mothers or other potential confounders such as gestational age or birthweight of infants.
(2) Displacing potencies for dopamine in the nanomolar range are associated with agonist-specific D-3 receptor binding and it is predicted that the component of D-2 binding with high agonist affinity may play a confounding role in many D-3 receptor studies.
(3) Frequently, however, only incomplete data on confounders can be obtained from sources such as next-of-kin or co-workers.
(4) Among all subgroups, the odds ratios adjusted for pertinent confounders and interactions fluctuated randomly by about 0.9 and showed no consistent trend with increased alcohol consumption.
(5) The possibility of applying Signal Detection Theory (SDT) to gustation was investigated by testing the effect of three variables--smoking, signal probability, and food intake (confounded with time of day)--on the taste sensitivity to sucrose of 24 male and 24 female Ss.
(6) They also include difficulties peculiar to the condition of mild mental retardation, including the choice of method of classification whether by IQ testing or administratively; the heterogeneous nature of the individuals so characterised; and the confounding effects of social and biological factors and the changes in the implications for the affected individual of the condition, depending on age, sex and environment.
(7) Practitioners must be aware of the potential for interactions between (and confounding by) commercially used feed components.
(8) A weakness was in not including confounding factors such as social class and the lack of detailed questions on topics.
(9) In practice, confounding by factors related to exposure opportunity is common.
(10) By using a national sample we ensured that the influence of regional variations in the configuration of long-term care services would not confound estimates of the relative effect of client-related factors.
(11) The independent effects of separation and display size, which were confounded in the Sagi and Julesz experiments, were examined.
(12) In particular, it is shown that adjustment for a misclassified confounding variable can be greatly improved by using the methods presented.
(13) Possible confounding effects of missing data, institutionalization prior to adoption, information given to adoptive parents by the adoption agencies about the child's biological background, historical period, perinatal factors, and selective placement were considered.
(14) I argue that (a) the procedures they used to study confounding were suboptimal because multiple measures of depression and catastrophizing were not employed and (b) the distinctiveness of constructs might better be regarded as a continuous rather than all-or-none (having adequate discriminant validity versus being confounded) concept.
(15) The observed relation between physical activity and colon cancer was not confounded by dietary intake of calories, fat, or protein, nor was the diet and colon cancer relation confounded by physical activity (odds ratios for calories, protein, and fat in males were 2.40, 2.57, and 2.18, respectively).
(16) It is this "multiple system failure" that compounds the effects of large scale events and confounds emergency response.
(17) To control for possible confounding variables, the authors repeated the analyses after stratifying by demographic and diagnostic variables that were distributed differently among men and women.
(18) Some recent reports implicate marijuana smoking as a cause of cancer of the upper aerodigestive tract, though most of the subjects were exposed to other, possibly confounding, etiologic factors, namely tobacco and alcohol.
(19) With the use of the logistic regression method, an adjusted OR was obtained after controlling various confounders.
(20) The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal caffeine consumption and low birthweight, intrauterine growth retardation, and prematurity, adjusting for multiple confounders.
Obfuscate
Definition:
(a.) Obfuscated; darkened; obscured.
(v. t.) To darken; to obscure; to becloud; hence, to confuse; to bewilder.
Example Sentences:
(1) Serving on the government's Renewables Advisory Board from 2003 to 2006, I witnessed what cynics could easily have mistaken for a deliberate campaign of delay, obfuscation, and the parking, if not torpedoing, of good ideas coming from industry members of the board."
(2) This obfuscates insight into the role of DCIS in the development of invasive cancer of the breast.
(3) It seemed to me watching the film that the concept of the cloud was another great piece of airy obfuscation on the part of the internet corporations, who like to peddle the childlike and the playful in the way that banks used to flog you credit cards called Smile and Egg and Marbles and Goldfish, to encourage you not to think too hard about the small print (what could possibly go wrong?).
(4) The issues related to breast-feeding and problems of the puerperium are often obfuscated by the general but outdated practice of recommending cessation of lactation.
(5) Manafort says such allegations are “pure obfuscation” and that there are no ties between the Trump campaign and the regime of Vladimir Putin.
(6) Putin is a cunning negotiator with the skills of a KGB colonel, varying between brute force, charm and obfuscation.
(7) Child poverty is, if it means anything after all this obfuscation, a lack of resources.
(8) There were euphemisms (“an incident”, “an inappropriate action on my part”); there were vague and reassuring references to the woman (“she has accepted my apology”); and there were mind-your-own-business obfuscations (“a deeply personal business”).
(9) This new party’s swelling ranks want no more of the old politics, no more caution and obfuscation, no more talking tough while sneaking in good by stealth.
(10) The failure of William Hague to contact the family directly after Abbas's sudden disappearance in Syria is a terrible obfuscation of duty, but Sayeeda Warsi's telephone call to his mother in which she asserts that Fatima should be happy that she had returned her call but there was nothing the government could do is staggering in its lack of humanity.
(11) On Thursday, what was left of the obfuscation and denial was swept aside by Sir Peter Gibson, a retired appeal court judge.
(12) Likewise Jacques Anouma, whom the Sunday Times this month accused under parliamentary privilege of receiving $1.5m in bribes from the Qatar World Cup bid – which he denies – faces accusations in his homeland of obfuscation.
(13) Suspicion about politicians’ motives is compounded by the strong view that the media seek to obfuscate rather than clarify.
(14) At times it has obfuscated its message on the bailout but Syriza's most impressive sleight of hand has been its attempt to appeal to incompatible constituencies.
(15) In his rebuttal, he said that they were the "usual tired obfuscation and generalisation".
(16) MPs have condemned the "collective amnesia" and "deliberate obfuscation" by the News of the World in giving evidence to the Commons select committee inquiry into illegal phone hacking.
(17) Stop obfuscating, David Cameron: we need transparency now | Wes Streeting Read more He added: “If these leaks reveal that EU law has been broken, or loopholes in our legislation have been highlighted, the commission will take, of course, appropriate action immediately.” Moscovici, a former French finance minister who has been leading EU efforts on tax transparency, urged member states to throw their support behind his plans for a blacklist of tax havens – an idea dismissed last year by UK officials.
(18) The committee said it had "repeatedly encountered an unwillingness to provide the detailed information that we sought, claims of ignorance or lack of recall and deliberate obfuscation".
(19) That's the precise opposite of the cover-up, obfuscate-and-deny culture that served News International so balefully through the years of hacking denial.
(20) The committee accused the commissioner of "confusion and obfuscation" about how much information it holds on which public figures have been targeted by journalists and investigators trying to obtain information illegally.