obfuscation

from WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006)

obfuscation
    n 1: confusion resulting from failure to understand [syn:
         {bewilderment}, {obfuscation}, {puzzlement},
         {befuddlement}, {mystification}, {bafflement},
         {bemusement}]
    2: the activity of obscuring people's understanding, leaving
       them baffled or bewildered [syn: {mystification},
       {obfuscation}]
    3: darkening or obscuring the sight of something

from The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

Obfuscation \Ob`fus*ca"tion\ ([o^]b`f[u^]s*k[=a]"sh[u^]n), n.
   [L. obfuscatio.]
   The act of darkening or bewildering; the state of being
   darkened. "Obfuscation of the cornea." --E. Darwin.
   [1913 Webster]