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
That bone-deep exhaustion during perimenopause is easy to explain away.
—Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
At the time, the signs felt easy to explain away.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
Some enforcement agents explain away their disappointment at such an escape with a you-can’t-win-’em-all shrug.
—Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
The conversations were often brief and fragmented, shaped by years of pain that had already been normalized or explained away.
—Sarah Berg, STAT, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for explain away
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Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026
At the time, the signs felt easy to explain away.
—Daniella Gray, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Mar. 2026
Some enforcement agents explain away their disappointment at such an escape with a you-can’t-win-’em-all shrug.
—Dave Duffey, Outdoor Life, 26 Mar. 2026
The conversations were often brief and fragmented, shaped by years of pain that had already been normalized or explained away.
—Sarah Berg, STAT, 26 Mar. 2026
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 4 Apr. 2026.
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