"To camouflage" is to sight as "to ____" is to sound

Question

I am looking for a word that describes disguising or hiding sound with other sound. Much in the same way that camouflage acts in hiding visual objects.

I ______ our conversation with loud music to avoid recording.

What could be used for hiding one sound under another ?

Answer 1

I muffled our conversation with loud music to avoid recording

This is the first word that comes to mind, and has a similar connotation with sound that camouflage has with sight.

From Oxford English, see the second definition with emphasis added.

muffle

VERB [WITH OBJECT]

1 Wrap or cover for warmth. 'everyone was muffled up in coats and scarves’

2 Cover or wrap up (a source of sound) to reduce its loudness. ‘the soft beat of a muffled drum’

From Merriam-Webster, see the first definition and the second part of the third definition with emphasis added.

muffled; muffling

transitive verb

1 to wrap up so as to conceal or protect : envelop

2 obsolete : blindfold

3 a: to wrap or pad with something to dull the sound. 'muffle the oarlocks'

3 b : to deaden the sound of

A comment by mahmud koya also noted this word and usage.

Answer 2

you could consider "drowned out"

I drowned out our conversation with loud music to avoid recording.

For a single word "masked" would work equally well.

Answer 3

The best word I can think of is sound masking, which can be used to disguise one’s voice, as camouflage can be used to disguise one’s appearance.

Wikipedia on Sound masking

Addition of sound created by special digital generators and distributed by normally unseen speakers through an area to reduce distractions or provide confidentiality where needed

Since sound masking is two words, you can use masking while talking in the context of sound.

Masking - The process by which one sound is used to obscure the presence of another.

Description from Acoustics First

Answer 4

"I obfuscated our conversation with loud music to avoid recording."

With the definition of the verb from the Oxford Dictionary:

To make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.

With potentially useful synonyms listed as:

obscure, confuse, make obscure/unclear, blur, muddle, jumble, complicate, garble, muddy, cloud, befog.

And more off the top of my head:

I concealed our conversation…

I disguised our conversation…

I veiled our conversation…

Answer 5

If you want to drown out a radio signal by overwhelming the channel with noise, it's called jamming. By analogy, you can do the same thing with sound waves:

• Audio Jammer on Amazon
• What is the White Noise Audio Jammer?

Answer 6

Noise - irrelevant or superfluous information or activity, especially that which distracts from what is important (OED).

Answer 7

I've always thought of the verb suppress.

To suppress something means to curb, inhibit, or even stop it. If the sound of your boss moving in his chair sounds like gas, you’re going to have to learn how to suppress your giggles.

...

(verb) control and refrain from showing; of emotions, desires, impulses, or behavior

_{https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/suppress}

(verb) to keep in or repress (a feeling, smile, groan, etc.)

_{http://www.dictionary.com/browse/suppress}

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The term is commonly used in the context of weaponry, as you can suppress the sound of gunfire with a suppressor.

(noun) A suppressor, sound suppressor, sound moderator, or silencer is a device attached to or part of the barrel of a firearm or air gun which reduces the amount of noise and visible muzzle flash generated by firing.

_{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppressor}

Answer 8

I would like to suggest a two-word term disguised voice which is widely used in the sense as the OP intended, as per the Google Books Ngram Viewer. Also the following example sentence is from the M-W dictionary:

He tried to disguise his voice on the phone but I could tell it was him.

Answer 9

Overlay - to cover (something) with a layer of another.

I find this fit in context of sound. Because it's frequently used in music making where sound from two channels are mixed together. One overlaid over another with varying intensity.

My example becomes as follows.

I overlaid our conversation with loud music to avoid recording.

Answer 10

I camouflage our conversation with loud music to avoid recording.

That's the sample sentence I'm suggesting. A work that you can use, quite rightly, is "camouflage". In this context, that word works great.

Here's another example of a sight-related word used in other contexts. Just as the word "beautiful" may first and foremost tend to refer to sight, but can also apply quite nicely to music, English has no problems taking a concept that is often used in one text, and using that concept in a totally different way. (I would say that doing such a thing is typically less atrociously egregious in concept than when a person "verbs" a noun like what this sentence just did.)

The most traditional use of the word "beautiful" may refer to sight, but the word can often mean "nice" or "pleasant" when referring to sound, or even something unrelated to senses, like the "beautiful work" of a job that was well done. Similarly, the word camouflage isn't at all restricted to only refer to sight. For instance, lies can often be effectively camouflaged by a bunch of true facts.

If you try to make your conversation appear to be part of background sound, by making the background sound at least as loud as your conversation, then your conversation will effectively be camouflaged by the the loud music.

People hearing or reading such a sentence will totally be able to understand the concept, without difficulty.

Answer 11

"Camouflage" is perfectly applicable to sound. Also, to just about any situation in which something is hidden by a distracting pattern. Such usage is almost literal; it is a shallow metaphor at best.

Answer 12

For obfuscation of sounds—even using other sounds—I'd use the verb “baffle.”

baffle

[...]

2 Restrain or regulate (a fluid, sound, etc.)

‘to baffle the noise further, I pad the gunwales’

[...]

‘Access is via exterior galleries along the street frontages, with bathrooms and kitchens placed here to baffle the street noise.’

_{https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/baffle}

Note: For written materials, I'd use “obliterate.” Unfortunately, in either case there is a more common usage of the word that may obliterate your intended meaning and baffle your audience.

Answer 13

Given the sentence: I ______ our conversation with loud music to avoid recording.

A fit would be "washed out". "I strained to listen but their conversation was washed out by the sound of crashing waves".

However given: Camouflage is to sight as ____ is to sound?

A fit would be "mimicry". Although to mimic can be used for ridicule it is also used to mean to emulate something. Camouflage mimics the natural surroundings, so someone passing information by mimicking a bird would fit, although from greater context of the question this isn't what you mean.

From the context of the question is is clear that you want to use a descriptive word for using a white noise generator, and such a device has the effect of "washing" out sound making it difficult for recording.

Finally any word for noise in general: "Within the din our message was obscured from prying ears." or "Under the cacophony of sound; which went by the term 'digital hardcore', my room-mate secretly passed along the nuclear launch codes."

Answer 14

Destructively interfere... (Edit: with thanks to prompt from commenter, is verbifying the intent)

This is the scientific concept behind noise cancelling headphones. Basically, the headphones analyze the sound that comes in from outside the headphones (ambient noise in the room) and then emits a waveform that is an inverse of the ambient noise waveform.

https://youtu.be/oTjTXS40pqs