1
as in to explain
to give the reason for or cause of
after the surprise attack, military leaders struggled to explain away the nation's unpreparedness
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2
as in to excuse
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses
tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature
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Recent Examples of explain away
However easy that is to explain away, that factoid remains kind of interesting.
—
Clem Chambers, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
Experts say the shopping list will be difficult for the defense to explain away, especially based on the timing and the specific details about what Kohberger was allegedly looking at.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 21 Mar. 2025
But poor casting was only half of it — Charles Walters' 1955 adaptation unfortunately reimagines the heroine as an irascible antisocial brat with delusions of grandeur, all explained away by bizarre contemporary psychoanalysis provided in voice-over.
—EW.com, 4 Mar. 2025
These digital artifacts create a detailed record of human activity and movement that’s difficult to falsify or explain away.
—Lars Daniel, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Clem Chambers, Forbes, 21 Jan. 2025
Experts say the shopping list will be difficult for the defense to explain away, especially based on the timing and the specific details about what Kohberger was allegedly looking at.
—Michael Ruiz, Fox News, 21 Mar. 2025
But poor casting was only half of it — Charles Walters' 1955 adaptation unfortunately reimagines the heroine as an irascible antisocial brat with delusions of grandeur, all explained away by bizarre contemporary psychoanalysis provided in voice-over.
—EW.com, 4 Mar. 2025
These digital artifacts create a detailed record of human activity and movement that’s difficult to falsify or explain away.
—Lars Daniel, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explain away
Verb
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If your golf cart has four wheels, weighs less than 3,000 pounds and can exceed speeds of 20 mph, it’s considered a low-speed vehicle under California law, Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers explained.—
Fernanda Galan,
Sacramento Bee,
16 Mar. 2025
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This effect could explain why telescopes detect more galaxies rotating opposite to Earth’s motion than expected.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
16 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Until Henry momentarily excuses himself from the table, that is, and the person or persons behind these winky-wink messages tell her to poison Henry ASAP or the menacing guy currently hiding in her apartment will kill her boy.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
10 Apr. 2025
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The 2025 Masters is here, and more than Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele will be on display this week at Augusta National Golf Club for all the fans — excuse us, patrons — to bear witness to.—
Hugh Kellenberger,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2025
Verb
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On Monday, seven of the Constitutional Court's eight judges overturned or dismissed Han's impeachment, arguing that accusations against him either did not constitute legal violations or were not severe enough to justify removing him from office.—
Kevin Sabet,
Newsweek,
24 Mar. 2025
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Reminds [me] also of the aggressors' narratives for justifying many other military interventions, occupations, and annexations in world history.—
Kevin Sabet,
Newsweek,
24 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explain%20away. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
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