Blur

Boundaries

To Cloud
To Obscure
To Mystify
To Muddle

To Garble
To Jumble
To Confuse
To Fog

To Fuzz
To Complicate
To Scramble
To Ravel

To Befog
To Bog Down
To Obfuscate
To Tangle

BLUR, v. { blur } [ 1 ] To cause ( something ) to be unclear — The fog blurred the headlights of the car. [ 2 ] To cause ( someone’s eyes or vision ) to be unclear — Alcohol always blurs my vision. / ( of eyes or vision ) to be unclear — My eyes were blurred. — My vision is blurred at night. [ 3 ] To make the difference between ( two ideas, situations, etc. ) very difficult to distinguish — These experiments blur the line between genius and insanity. { Combinations } [ with adverb ] Blur together, increasingly blurred. [ With subject ] The lines blur, the boundaries blur, tears blur. [ with direct object ] Blur the line, blur the distinction, blur the boundaries, blur one's vision, blur the image [ with prepositional phrase ] Blur with tears, blurring of the lines, blurred by tears, blurred to the point, blurring of boundaries [ noun modifier, past participle ] Blurred line, blurred boundaries, blurred image, blurred vision.

One effect is that there has been a general blurring of ideological lines between the two parties. [ National Post ] The words “liberty” and “freedom” have blurred together in our usage, but name two distinct concepts. [ The New York Times ] We are moving to a place where we produce movies and games because all those boundaries are blurring. [ Los Angeles Times ] The BBFC was able to blur the image of the film within the film and leave the sense of the scene intact. [ The Guardian ] As automakers compete for your business, the lines are blurring between mainstream brands and luxury cars. [ Chicago Tribune ] The move will further blur the distinction between traditional TV broadcasters and online delivery systems. [ The New Zealand Herald ] From the master of the morbid imagination, this gem of a story blurs the edges between horror and ghost fiction. [ The Guardian ] The recent bomb plots out of Yemen shouldn’t blur the big picture that nowadays, terrorists are mostly homegrown. [ USA Today ] They are so closely related that they sometimes crossbreed, blurring species boundaries and diluting spotted owl genes. [ Smithsonian Mag ] His church advocates handling snakes to push the edge of the cosmic envelope, to blur the line where the self meets the larger world. [ The Washington Post ] Street View’s advanced software automatically blurs the faces of any person captured on camera, along with all vehicle licence plates. [ The Windsor Star ] This massive blurring of boundaries, and the amount of choice available to consumers, will make it even more difficult for a company’s voice to be heard. [ The Economist ] He watches as the steaming Cass disappears over the distant hill, blurred by the mist of the cold rain. [ Booksie ] Falling on his rear and vision blurring, he saw a smile from the last figure he would ever likely see his life. [ Booksie ] A fine, misty drizzle was falling, so that the people huddled around the edges of the yard looked blurred at the edges. [ Booksie ]

From Middle English blear, ‘a blur’.