I think Anonymize but struggling to find in a dictionary

Namerase.

douglang - 02 October 2009 06:38 AM

Namerase.

Sounds like something for vericose veins.

I could continue in a vericose vein, but I’d need justification.

See Sap: he’s great with veins and blood and all that.  Loves it, has 3 gallons of the stuff stored in his basement somewhere.

He has jocular veins, can’t help sharing.

Jocular? Not too funny here. But I have a high threshhold for humor, don’t find too much too funny.  Needs to really be funny to get me.

Yeah, anyway, back to the question, any ideas?

namerase, what’s that then (apart from nearly qualifying as a Googlewhack with ‘namerase definition’)

MarkS - 03 October 2009 02:02 AM

Yeah, anyway, back to the question, any ideas?

namerase, what’s that then (apart from nearly qualifying as a Googlewhack with ‘namerase definition’)

OK serious here.
I don’t have a word, perhaps discussion will produce one.
Start with Alcoholics Anonymous, Cocaine Anon., Al-Anon., Over-eaters Anon.
  -What made them Anonymous to begin with> withholding last names of members. Withholding info.
Let’s go, guys, we need something serious here.

Anybody??

Declassify is to make public, so in the sense of being removed from the public realm, “classify” is to make anonymous.

Other possibilities include:-

Privatise
Go underground
Drop from view
Un-name
Lie low
Camouflage
Deemphasise
Coverup
Subordinate
Return to rank and file
Unbrand

thanks guys, I suppose a context would have helped. I’m taking a database with real peoples personal details to use for testing purposes. I have to change the personal data so that they are anonymous, hence I used anonymize.
However I had objections that anonymize is ‘not a word’ as not in a dictionary. is it reasonable to ‘verbify’ anonymous to anonymize.

Obfuscate may do the trick instead.

Why not “hide,” “mask,” or “obscure”? “Obfuscate” works, but will anyone else will understand it?

Obfuscate.
I like that word.  It sounds like the daily workings of our government.

So Mark, do you have your answer?  Thanks for giving us something to work on, to sink our teeth into.

Of course, there’s the old saying, “eschew obfuscation.”

I have an idea: why not use “ghost”?

If you don’t want to be specific, either non-specific or generalise.