explain away
verb
explained away; explaining away; explains away
1
: to get rid of by or as if by explanation
2
: to minimize the significance of by or as if by explanation
explains his faults, but does not try to explain them away—
M. K. Spears
M. K. SpearsExamples of explain away in a Sentence
after the surprise attack, military leaders struggled to explain away the nation's unpreparedness
tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature
Recent Examples on the Web
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
Pagels, rehabilitating aspects of Christianity on terms that a secular scholar can respect, revels in the contradictions and the inconsistencies not as flaws to be explained away but as signs of the faith’s capaciousness.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
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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
Pagels, rehabilitating aspects of Christianity on terms that a secular scholar can respect, revels in the contradictions and the inconsistencies not as flaws to be explained away but as signs of the faith’s capaciousness.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 24 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explain%20away. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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