What's the difference between confuse and obfuscate?

Confuse


Definition:

  • (a.) Mixed; confounded.
  • (v. t.) To mix or blend so that things can not be distinguished; to jumble together; to confound; to render indistinct or obscure; as, to confuse accounts; to confuse one's vision.
  • (v. t.) To perplex; to disconcert; to abash; to cause to lose self-possession.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Until the 1960's there was great confusion, both within and between countries, on the meaning of diagnostic terms such as emphysema, asthma, and chronic brochitis.
  • (2) Even today, our experience of the zoo is so often interrupted by disappointment and confusion.
  • (3) Cloacal exstrophy, centered on the maldevelopment of the primitive streak mesoderm and cloacal membrane, results in bladder and intestinal exstrophy, omphalocele, gender confusion, and hindgut deformity.
  • (4) He has also been a vocal opponent of gay marriage, appearing on the Today programme in the run-up to the same-sex marriage bill to warn that it would "cause confusion" – and asking in a Spectator column, after it was passed, "if the law will eventually be changed to allow one to marry one's dog".
  • (5) A group called Campaign for Houston , which led the opposition, described the ordinance as “an attack on the traditional family” designed for “gender-confused men who … can call themselves ‘women’ on a whim”.
  • (6) The intracellular localization of tachyzoites facilitated diagnosis by obviating potential confusion of extracellular tachyzoites with cellular debris or platelets.
  • (7) But mention the words "eurozone crisis" to other Finns, and you could be rewarded with little more than a confused, albeit friendly, smile.
  • (8) "I am in a bad situation, psychologically so bad and confused," one father said, surrounded by his three other young sons.
  • (9) The differentiation between the various modes of involvement is essential as some of them may be confused with recurrence and the clinician might resort to unnecessary drastic measures like enucleation.
  • (10) Many characteristics of the Chinese history and society are responsible for this controversy and confusion.
  • (11) Two normal variants that could be confused with abnormalities were noted: (a) the featureless appearance of the duodenal bulb may be mistaken for extravasation, and (b) contrastmaterial filling of the proximal jejunal loop at an end-to-end anastomosis with retained invaginated pancreas may be mistaken for intussusception.
  • (12) Bilateral temporal epilepsies involving the limbic system on the one hand, bilateral frontal epilepsies on the other one, and P.M. status which may be paralleled, make these patients more susceptible to acute mental confusions, to acute thymic disorders, to delirious attacks.
  • (13) At present the use of the four terms to describe the common types of diabetes leads to confusion, which could readily be resolved by arriving at agreed definitions for each of these terms.
  • (14) The interplay of policies and principles to which Miss Nightingale subscribed, the human frailty of one of her women, Miss Nightingale's illness, and the confusion and stress which characterized the Crimean War are discussed.
  • (15) The features of benzodiazepine withdrawal in the elderly may differ from those seen in young patients; withdrawal symptoms include confusion and disorientation which often does not precipitate milder reactions such as anxiety, insomnia and perceptual changes.
  • (16) The government's civil partnership bill to sanction same-sex unions was thrown into confusion last night after a cross-party coalition of peers and bishops voted to extend the bill's benefits to a wide range of people who live together in a caring family relationship.
  • (17) In the ECMO patient, cardiac stun syndrome and electromechanical dissociation can be confused with low circuit volume, pneumothorax, or cardiac tamponade.
  • (18) Simple reperfusion of the infarcted myocardium, however, does not necessarily guarantee myocardial salvage, and preliminary studies have been somewhat confusing as to its beneficial effects.
  • (19) Scaf criticised the Muslim Brotherhood for its premature announcement of the results and stated it was "one of the main causes of division and confusion prevailing the political arena".
  • (20) I think it would have been appropriate and right and respectful of people’s feelings to have done so.” There was also confusion over Labour policy sparked by conflicting comments made by Corbyn and his new shadow work and pensions secretary, Owen Smith.

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.