In the following question, out of the four alternatives, select the word that is opposite in meaning to the given word Obfuscate.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Clarify

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
This antonym question tests your understanding of the verb obfuscate. The word is often used in formal writing, especially to criticise writing or speech that makes things harder to understand. To find the correct opposite, you must first know what obfuscate means and then choose the option that expresses the reverse action.


Given Data / Assumptions:
- Target word: Obfuscate. - Options: Envelop, Puzzle, Haze, Clarify. - We are looking for a verb that does the opposite of making something unclear.


Concept / Approach:
To obfuscate means to make something unclear, confusing or difficult to understand, often deliberately. For example, a speaker might obfuscate the real issue by using complicated language. Therefore, the antonym we want must convey the idea of making something clear and easy to understand. Of the given options, only clarify directly expresses this sense of making things clear. The others describe surrounding, confusing or clouding something, which are closer in spirit to obfuscate.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Restate obfuscate in simple terms: to cloud understanding, to make things confusing or vague. Step 2: Examine Clarify. Clarify means to make something clear or easier to understand. This is the precise opposite of obfuscate. Step 3: Examine Envelop. Envelop means to wrap or cover completely, often hiding something from view, which is metaphorically similar to hiding clarity. Step 4: Examine Puzzle. Puzzle means to confuse or cause someone to be uncertain, which is almost the same effect as obfuscate. Step 5: Examine Haze. Haze refers to making something misty or vague, which again suggests a loss of clarity and therefore is close in meaning rather than opposite.


Verification / Alternative check:
Use the words in parallel sentences. A dishonest politician may obfuscate the facts about a policy. The opposite situation would be that a responsible politician clarifies the facts about a policy. Replacing obfuscate with clarify reverses the meaning of the sentence while preserving its structure. However, replacing obfuscate with envelop or haze would still give the sense of hiding or clouding, not clearing things up. Puzzle is also about causing confusion, not removing it. This confirms that clarify is the correct antonym.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Envelop is wrong because it suggests covering or surrounding something, which fits better with the idea of hiding clarity than restoring it. Puzzle is wrong because it means to confuse, which is essentially what obfuscate also does. Haze is wrong because it implies making something blurry or indistinct, again reinforcing rather than opposing obfuscation.


Common Pitfalls:
Exams sometimes include near synonyms of the target word among the options to trick test takers who have only a vague sense of the meaning. Here, puzzle and haze may look attractive if you only remember that obfuscate has something to do with difficulty. To avoid such mistakes, always restate the target word clearly in your own words and then look for the choice that truly reverses that meaning, not one that simply sounds similar or negative. Keeping a mental pair like obfuscate versus clarify will be especially useful.


Final Answer:
The word that is opposite in meaning to Obfuscate is Clarify.

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