Synonyms of explain away

explain away

verb

1

as in to explain

to give the reason for or cause of

after the surprise attack, military leaders struggled to explain away the nation's unpreparedness

Synonyms & Similar Words

• explain
• account (for)
• justify
• rationalize
• attribute
• forgive
• excuse
• condone
• absolve
• vindicate
• exonerate
• acquit
• exculpate

2

as in to excuse

to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses

tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature

Synonyms & Similar Words

• explain
• excuse
• justify
• gloss (over)
• account (for)
• whitewash
• palliate
• gloze (over)
• confess
• deodorize
• extenuate
• play down
• minimize
• apologize
• alleviate
• varnish
• atone
• rationalize
• mitigate
• moderate
• lighten
• soften
• temper
• sugarcoat
• vindicate
• lessen
• ease
• absolve
• exonerate
• acquit
• exculpate
• soft-pedal
• clear

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of explain away

Still, there's a difference between de-escalating and going out of your way to explain away the actions of the player who just blasted one of your own. — Amber Harding Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026

How these experiences may be misclassified The symptoms that women in their late 30s, 40s, and early 50s commonly experience are, individually, easy to explain away. — Matt Emma, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026

However, these people don't need prediction markets to concoct some conspiracy theory to explain away why their candidate lost. — Bobby Allyn, NPR, 27 July 2026

Those anemic numbers help explain the President’s mania for changing the subject to election fraud—laying the groundwork to explain away any losses in November, or, worse, something closer to what Himes warned about. — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 17 July 2026