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. Spears
Examples 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
Harris would have the advantage of running on the successes of the Biden administration — while, of course, trying to explain away its failings — without that whole gerontocracy thing weighing on her candidacy.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
On camera, the young man explains away his guilty pleasure with a Janus-like, transactional ambivalence worthy of his hero.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
Supporters of the president are already explaining away Thursday’s debate as one data point compared with three years of accomplishments.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 June 2024
Showrunner John Orloff’s decisions about what to show us versus what to explain away with a line of dialogue or via group navigator Harry Crosby’s sporadic narration — another mainstay absent last episode but returns here — are increasingly opaque.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for explain away 
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024
On camera, the young man explains away his guilty pleasure with a Janus-like, transactional ambivalence worthy of his hero.
—Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post, 11 July 2024
Supporters of the president are already explaining away Thursday’s debate as one data point compared with three years of accomplishments.
—Dominic Patten, Deadline, 28 June 2024
Showrunner John Orloff’s decisions about what to show us versus what to explain away with a line of dialogue or via group navigator Harry Crosby’s sporadic narration — another mainstay absent last episode but returns here — are increasingly opaque.
—Chris Klimek, Vulture, 9 Feb. 2024
See all Example Sentences for explain away
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'explain away.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near explain away
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explain%20away. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share