explain

ex·plain  (k-spln)

v. ex·plained, ex·plain·ing, ex·plains

v.tr.

1. To make plain or comprehensible.

2. To define; expound: We explained our plan to the committee.

3.

a. To offer reasons for or a cause of; justify: explain an error.

b. To offer reasons for the actions, beliefs, or remarks of (oneself).

v.intr.

To make something plain or comprehensible: Let me explain.

Phrasal Verb:

explain away

1. To dismiss or get rid of by or as if by explaining.

2. To minimize by explanation.

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[Middle English explanen, from Latin explnre : ex-, intensive pref.; see ex- + plnus, clear; see pel-² in Indo-European roots.]

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ex·plaina·ble adj.

Synonyms: explain, elucidate, expound, explicate, interpret, construe
These verbs mean to make understandable the nature or meaning of something. Explain is the most widely applicable: The professor explained the obscure symbols.
To elucidate is to throw light on something complex: "Man's whole life and environment have been laid open and elucidated" (Thomas Carlyle).
Expound and explicate imply detailed and usually learned and lengthy exploration or analysis: "We must never forget that it is a constitution we are expounding" (John Marshall). "Ordinary language philosophers tried to explicate the standards of usage" (Jerrold J. Katz).
To interpret is to reveal the underlying meaning of something by the application of special knowledge or insight: "If a poet interprets a poem of his own he limits its suggestibility" (William Butler Yeats).
Construe involves putting a particular construction or interpretation on something: "I take the official oath today . . . with no purpose to construe the Constitution or laws by any hypercritical rules" (Abraham Lincoln).

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explain [ɪkˈspleɪn]

vb

1. (when tr, may take a clause as object) to make (something) comprehensible, esp by giving a clear and detailed account of the relevant structure, operation, surrounding circumstances, etc.

2. (tr) to justify or attempt to justify (oneself) by giving reasons for one's actions or words

[from Latin explānāre to flatten, from plānus level]

explainable  adj

explainer  n

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	explain - make plain and comprehensible; "He explained the laws of physics to his students" explicate inform - impart knowledge of some fact, state or affairs, or event to; "I informed him of his rights" rede, interpret - give an interpretation or explanation to account for - give reasons for; "Can you account for all these absences?" naturalize - explain with reference to nature clarify, clear up, elucidate - make clear and (more) comprehensible; "clarify the mystery surrounding her death" comment - explain or interpret something
	2.	explain - define; "The committee explained their plan for fund-raising to the Dean" say, state, tell - express in words; "He said that he wanted to marry her"; "tell me what is bothering you"; "state your opinion"; "state your name"
	3.	explain - serve as a reason or cause or justification of; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again" excuse alibi - exonerate by means of an alibi vindicate, justify - show to be right by providing justification or proof; "vindicate a claim"

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explain

verb

1. make clear or plain, describe, demonstrate, illustrate, teach, define, solve, resolve, interpret, disclose, unfold, clarify, clear up, simplify, expound, elucidate, put into words, throw light on, explicate (formal), give the details of He explained the process to us in simple terms.

2. account for, excuse, justify, give a reason for, give an explanation for Can you explain why you didn't telephone me?

Quotations
"Never explain - your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway" [Elbert Hubbard The Motto Book]

Translations

explain [ɪksˈpleɪn]

A. VT (= make clear) [+ meaning, problem] → explicar; [+ plan] → explicar, exponer; [+ mystery] → explicar, aclarar; (= account for) [+ conduct] → explicar, justificar
I explained it to him → se lo expliqué
that explains it → eso lo explica, con eso queda todo aclarado
to explain o.s (clearly) → explicarse; (morally) → justificarse, defenderse
kindly explain yourself! → ¡explíquese Vd!

B. VI will you call him and explain? → ¿le llamas tú y se lo explicas?
I tried to explain, but → intenté explicárselo, pero ...

explain away VT + ADV → dar explicaciones(convincentes)de, justificar; (= excuse) → disculpar
try and explain that away! → ¡a ver cómo justificas eso!

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explain [ɪkˈspleɪn] vt → expliquer
to explain why → expliquer pourquoi
to explain how → expliquer comment
to explain sth to sb → expliquer qch à qn
to explain that ... → expliquer que ...

explain away

vt [+ mistake, failure, evidence] → trouver de bonnes explications à

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explain

vt → erklären (to sb jdm); motives, situation, thoughts → erläutern, erklären; mystery → aufklären; it’s all right, I can explain everything → schon gut, ich kann das alles erklären; that is easy to explain, that is easily explained → das lässt sich leicht erklären; he wanted to see me but wouldn’t explain why → er wollte mich sehen, sagte aber nicht, warum or aus welchem Grunde; so that explains why he didn’t react → ach, das erklärt, warum er nicht reagiert hat

vr (= justify) → sich rechtfertigen; he’d better explain himself → ich hoffe, er kann das erklären; I think you’d better start explaining yourself → was hast du zu deiner Entschuldigung zu sagen?; explain yourself! → was soll das?, kannst du das erklären?

vi → es erklären; please explain → bitte erklären Sie das; I think you’ve got some explaining to do → ich glaube, Sie müssen da einiges erklären

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explain [ɪksˈpleɪn] vt (gen) → spiegare; (mystery) → chiarire
to explain o.s. → spiegarsi

explain away vt → cercare di dare una motivazione a

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explain [ɪksˈpleɪn] vt (gen) → spiegare; (mystery) → chiarire
to explain o.s. → spiegarsi

explain away vt → cercare di dare una motivazione a

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explain

v explain [ikˈsplein]

1 to make (something) clear or easy to understand Can you explain the railway timetable to me?; Did she explain why she was late? verduidelik شَرَح، فَسَّر обяснявам vysvětlit forklare erklären, erläutern εξηγώ explicar selgitama توضیح دادن selittää expliquer לְהַבהִיר समझाना objasniti, razjasniti (meg)magyaráz menjelaskan útskÿra spiegare 説明する 설명하다 paaiškinti paskaidrot jelas uitleggen forklare, gjøre rede for wyjaśniać explicar a explica, a lămuri объяснять vysvetliť pojasniti objasniti förklara อธิบาย açıklamak 解釋 пояснювати واضح کرنا ، سمجھانا giải thích 解释

2 to give, or be, a reason for I cannot explain his failure; That explains his silence. verklaar يُفَسِّر، يُعْطي السَّبب обяснявам vysvětlit forklare; begrunde erklären (επ)εξηγώ, ερμηνεύω explicar seletama توجیه کردن perustella expliquer לְהַסבִּיר सफाई देना, कारण बताना objasniti indokol menjelaskan gefa skÿringu á spiegare 理由を述べる …을 명확히 밝히다 paaiškinti izskaidrot menjelaskan verklaren klarlegge, begrunne, finne årsak til wytłumaczyć explicar a expli­ca, a justifica объяснять vysvetliť razložiti objasniti förklara ชี้แจง açıklamak 說明 пояснювати کسی چیز کا سبب بتانا giải thích 说明

n explanation [ekspləˈneiʃən]

1 the act or process of explaining Let me give a few words of explanation. verduideliking شَرْح، تَفْسير обяснение vysvětlení forklaring; redegørelse die Erklärung εξήγηση explicación selgitus توضیح selitys explication הֶסבֵּר व्याख्या objašnjavanje magyarázat penjelasan (út)skÿring spiegazione 説明 설명 paaiškinimas paskaidrojums penjelasan uitleg forklaring, utgreiing wyjaśnienie explicação explicaţie разъяснение vysvetlenie pojasnjevanje objašnjenje förklaring การอธิบาย açıklama 說明 пояснення وضاحت sự giảng giải 说明

2 a statement or fact that explains There are several possible explanations for the explosion. verklaring تَفْسير، تَعْليل обяснение vysvětlení forklaring; begrundelse die Erklärung εξήγηση, ερμηνεία explicación seletus شرح؛ دلیل perustelu explication הֶסבֵּר विवरण, बयान objašnjenje értelmezés penjelasan (út)skÿring spiegazione 原因 진상, 이유 paaiškinimas izskaidrojums penjelasan verklaring årsak(ssammenheng), forklaring wyjaśnienie explicação explicaţie объяснение vysvetlenie pojasnilo objašnjenje förklaring คำอธิบาย açıklama 解釋 пояснення توضيحی بیان lời giải thích 解释

adj exˈplanatory [-ˈsplӕnə-]

giving an explanation There are explanatory notes in this book. verklarend تَفْسيري، إيضاحي обяснителен vysvětlující forklarende erklärend επεξηγηματικός explicativo selgitav توضیحی selittävä explicatif מְבָאֵר व्याख्यात्मक koji tumači, razjašnjava (meg)magyarázó menjelaskan skÿringar- esplicativo 説明の 설명을 위한 aiškinamasis []skaidrojošs catatan keterangan verklarend forklarende objaśniający explicativo explicativ пояснительный vysvetľujúci pojasnjevalen koji objašnjava förklarande ซึ่งชี้แจง açıklayıcı 解釋的 пояснювальний; тлумачний توضیحی mang tính giải thích 解释的

explain away

to get rid of (difficulties etc) by clever explaining She could not explain away the missing money. goedpraat, wegredeneer يَجِد التفسير давам задоволително обяснение (dostatečně) vysvětlit bortforklare (durch Erklärungen) vertuschen δικαιολογώ dar explicaciones õigustust leidma توجیه کردن antaa selitys justifier לְהָסִיר סָפֶק व्याख्या द्वारा समझाना objasniti, razjasniti kimagyaráz (vmit) memberi alasan gera efasemdir/ótta að engu með útskÿringum spiegare, giustificare 言い抜ける (의혹 따위를) 잘 설명하여 풀다 pagrįsti, paaiškinti attaisnot menjelaskan wegredeneren bortforklare usprawiedliwić, wyjaśnić dar uma explicação a justifica находить объяснение (uspokojivo) vysvetliť upravičiti opravdati bortförklara ขจัดความสงสัยโดยการอธิบาย açıklama yaparak sıyrılmak 巧辯過去 виправдовувати(ся) کسی غلطی کی اہمیت کو گھٹا کر رفت گزشت کرنے کے لۓ توضيح کرنا thanh minh 巧辩过去

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explain → يَشرح vysvětlit forklare erklären εξηγώ explicar selittää expliquer objasniti spiegare 説明する 설명하다 uitleggen forklare wyjaśnić explicar-se объяснять förklara อธิบาย açıklamak giải thích 解释