Word of the Day: obfuscation

The word obfuscation has appeared in 31 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on June 27 in “At Larry Kramer’s Memorial, a Gathering of Friends and Enemies” by Jacob Bernstein:

Mr. Kramer’s actions were marked by “confrontation, outrageous behavior and insults,” Dr. Fauci said, but they were followed by “insights, rationality, sensitivity, vulnerability, empathy and even humor.” In his view, Mr. Kramer’s “outrageous behavior” was the product of an “unselfish goal” related to “the plight of his people.”

The force of Mr. Kramer’s personality came through in an excerpt from “Larry Kramer in Love and Anger,” an HBO documentary, that was shown at the start of the memorial. One of his pet peeves was the word “epidemic,” which he felt allowed for a jargon-y obfuscation of the AIDS crisis.

“Why can’t anyone say ‘plague’?” Mr. Kramer said.

Daily Word Challenge

Can you correctly use the word obfuscation in a sentence?

Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.

Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.

If you want a better idea of how obfuscation can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.

Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.