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
But sightings like the gimbal are a lot harder to explain away—a point proven by another UAP incident known colloquially as the Tic Tac.
—
Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 22 Jan. 2025
His monstrous deeds are either omitted, explained away, or copied uncritically from official Soviet narratives.
—Leon Aron, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
Yet many lawmakers are quick to dismiss or explain away the number, arguing the tax cuts will ultimately help the economy and, subsequently, revenue for the government.
—Emily Wilkins, CNBC, 25 Nov. 2024
This opaqueness isn’t a flaw — if anything, more movies should resist explaining away the mysteries, however small, of their characters.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Jeffrey Kluger, TIME, 22 Jan. 2025
His monstrous deeds are either omitted, explained away, or copied uncritically from official Soviet narratives.
—Leon Aron, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2024
Yet many lawmakers are quick to dismiss or explain away the number, arguing the tax cuts will ultimately help the economy and, subsequently, revenue for the government.
—Emily Wilkins, CNBC, 25 Nov. 2024
This opaqueness isn’t a flaw — if anything, more movies should resist explaining away the mysteries, however small, of their characters.
—Tom Gliatto, People.com, 10 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explain away
Verb
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This gets at a much bigger issue: This production fails to justify or explain why this is a one-person show or what is gained by this choice.—
Christian Lewis,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
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Speaking on the Actions Detrimental podcast, Hamlin explained what went wrong after the final restart.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Verb
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This year, 2025, has been positioned as the Great Reset — the first period without any asterisks to excuse the industry’s lack of recovery.—
Rebecca Rubin,
Variety,
31 Mar. 2025
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None of which excuses a failure to search such sagas for good ideas that might be repurposed today.—
Bill Fischer,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Ukraine’s General Staff denied the allegations, saying in a statement Wednesday that Russia’s claims were part of a broader disinformation campaign aimed at justifying continued hostilities.—
Illia Novikov and Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Mar. 2025
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These proceedings were not justified and should never have been conducted.—
Dan Sheldon,
The Athletic,
25 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explain%20away. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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