1
as in to confuse
to make (something) unclear to the understanding
the professor's convoluted explanation only befogged the textbook's presentation of this scientific principle
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to obscure
to make dark, dim, or indistinct
the morning murk befogged our view of the harbor
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in to bewilder
to throw into a state of mental uncertainty
completely befogged by the sudden change of subject
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of befog
But the Taycan's launch control hits harder than the Model S's, smacking us with 1.3 g's of initial acceleration long enough to befog our noggin.
—
Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 7 Feb. 2020
This is the point where accidentally interacting with passerby distracted by their smartphones, their attention equally befogged by another kind of augmented reality, could result in a very bad ending.
—Matt Peckham, Time, 23 June 2017
The detective blames Nichols, the self-aggrandizing adviser who convinced the Cabazons to build a casino, for conjuring the intrigue that continued to befog the case long after his death.
—Andrew Rice, WIRED, 4 Feb. 2011
Dave Vanderwerp, Car and Driver, 7 Feb. 2020
This is the point where accidentally interacting with passerby distracted by their smartphones, their attention equally befogged by another kind of augmented reality, could result in a very bad ending.
—Matt Peckham, Time, 23 June 2017
The detective blames Nichols, the self-aggrandizing adviser who convinced the Cabazons to build a casino, for conjuring the intrigue that continued to befog the case long after his death.
—Andrew Rice, WIRED, 4 Feb. 2011
Recent Examples of Synonyms for befog
Verb
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No one was going to confuse Colossal with the Sierra Club.—
D. T. Max,
New Yorker,
7 Apr. 2025
-
Few foods confuse foreign visitors quite like brunost, Norwegian brown cheese.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The myth of the lone genius obscures the reality that even the most brilliant thinkers stand on the shoulders of those who came before them.—
Mark Nevins,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
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Meanwhile, all these great locations and details are obscured constantly, muddled into blurry backgrounds.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Across the street, her husband Steve, who nursed Molly through her first fight with breast cancer a few years earlier, sits bewildered in the office of their couples therapist.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Mar. 2025
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Carlie thinks the whole thing is hilarious, and Chelsea remains bewildered by any King Cake Baby obsession.—
Chelsea Brasted,
Axios,
20 Feb. 2025
Verb
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But instead of sounding the alarm, defendants went out of their way to becloud the emerging scientific consensus.—
Edward Fitzpatrick,
BostonGlobe.com,
7 Aug. 2019
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His flacks and surrogates hand out scraps of information grudgingly, infrequently, and beclouded by fragrant eructations of doublespeak.—
Charles Seife,
Slate Magazine,
1 Mar. 2017
Verb
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During the day, their color darkens.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
10 Apr. 2025
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Shared pool, pet-friendly, concierge, bike rentals, room-darkening shades Proximity is a big perk when staying at this luxe bungalow villa—downtown Tulum is just five minutes away by car, 10 minutes from the beach, and 15 minutes from Gran Cenote and Kaan Luum Lagoon.—
Erika Owen,
Architectural Digest,
5 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Multiple voices in one hand blended into fistfuls of color, and perplexing emphases on accompaniment figures served to distract, rather than elucidate, the musical argument.—
Luke Schulze,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
3 Mar. 2025
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Dahl was especially perplexed by the response to Evans’s fall.—
Ronan Farrow,
The New Yorker,
24 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This helps obfuscate against security analysis and also reboots the malware with a system restart.—
Zak Doffman,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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Euphemisms are designed to obfuscate unpleasant truths.—
Zachariah Mampilly,
Foreign Affairs,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Though rooted in self-love, these trends can blur the line between care and consumerism.—
Jasmine Browley,
Essence,
26 Mar. 2025
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On the other hand, holding a company liable for one person’s speech blurs the line between individual and collective responsibility.—
Kwame Anthony Appiah,
New York Times,
26 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Befog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/befog. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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