explain away
verb
Definition of explain away
transitive verb
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
From the M-W Editors
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
1688
First Known Use of explain away
1688
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