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
To make matters worse, meteorologists are increasingly dealing with hostility and threats simply for making forecasts or explaining away wacky conspiracy theories.
—
Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
Democratic politicos are scrambling to explain away the results or find palliative measures.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
If Hollywood is to be believed, life as a Catholic priest at the turn of the 20th century involved spending 75 percent of your time sitting in your office while people brought troubled women to you and asked you to determine if all of their problems could be explained away by demonic possession.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 4 June 2025
Then, when that was explained away by protocol, there was also the fact that it was confirmed the King would also not be attending Pope Leo’s Inauguration.
—Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
Democratic politicos are scrambling to explain away the results or find palliative measures.
—Paul Du Quenoy, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 July 2025
If Hollywood is to be believed, life as a Catholic priest at the turn of the 20th century involved spending 75 percent of your time sitting in your office while people brought troubled women to you and asked you to determine if all of their problems could be explained away by demonic possession.
—Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 4 June 2025
Then, when that was explained away by protocol, there was also the fact that it was confirmed the King would also not be attending Pope Leo’s Inauguration.
—Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 16 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explain away
Verb
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Police officials will explain how the new police drones can be remotely deployed and piloted toward the scene of an incident from docks placed across the city.—
Cameron Knight,
The Enquirer,
26 July 2025
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Upright vacuum cleaners typically have bigger motors, which generate more powerful suction, Ho explains.—
Meghan Overdeep,
Southern Living,
25 July 2025
Verb
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But the survey of 1,000 American adults, taken on June 10, also found that some excused or endorsed the violence against Jews.—
Grace Gilson,
Sun Sentinel,
11 July 2025
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When a flight attendant noticed, Dali faked vomiting to excuse her lengthy time in the bathroom.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
10 July 2025
Verb
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However, the Commission did not indicate any sudden or unexpected event that would justify the urgency.—
Jon McGowan,
Forbes.com,
24 July 2025
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Lay of the land Advocates for the Golden Dome point to recent events to justify the program.—
Stephen Clark,
ArsTechnica,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explain%20away. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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