blur the lines
Make boundaries unclear
To blur the lines is to make distinctions less clear or boundaries less defined.
The phrase usually describes situations where categories that once seemed separate become harder to distinguish: The internet has blurred the lines between work and personal life.
It often carries a note of concern—that important differences are being erased—but can also suggest creative boundary-crossing: Her music blurs the lines between jazz and hip-hop.
- confuseCause mental disorientation
- mixed signalsContradictory indications from someone
- conflateMerge distinct elements
- obscureUnknown to most
- muddleDisordered, bewildered state
shades of gray · gray area · blend · merge · integrate · mix · genre-bending · genre bending · ambiguity · meld · combine · collage · liminal · intermingle · cross-cultural exchange · hybridity · convergence · mashup
blur the linesdraw a line
Establish a boundary point
sharpen · clarify · delineate · demarcate · set boundaries
blur the linesseparate
To set apart
compartmentalize · categorize · classify · segregate · pigeonhole
blur, blurs, blurred, blurring, blurry, blurriness, line, lines, lined