explain away

verb

explained away; explaining away; explains 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

Synonyms of explain away

• explain
• account (for)

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

Offscreen, some fans accuse Wyle of explaining away or downplaying his fictional character’s cruelty, and of a constellation of other sins, including envy of his fellow actors’ credentials. —Scottie Andrew, CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026

The gallium anomaly remains similarly tough to explain away. —Quanta Magazine, 8 Apr. 2026

The famed African American journalist investigated lynchings across the South and wrote about the savage incidents that the white press had already explained away. —Case Thorp, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2026

That bone-deep exhaustion during perimenopause is easy to explain away. —Allison Palmer, Kansas City Star, 1 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for explain away

• andromache
• bioassay
• cabriolet
• cercariae
• communique
• companionway
• compositae
• decussate
• examinee
• fabaceae
• glyphosate
• microarray

Kids Definition

explain away

verb

: to cause to seem less important by explaining

explained away her mistake