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
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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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of explain away
Trying to explain away a difficult play or a bad performance for some time while the storm is upon us is not an easy task to navigate or deal with and remain cool, calm and collected.
—
Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
This social belief explained away female self-expression as irrational and undesirable.
—Katie Collom, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Additional forms cannot explain away a 36% increase in officers’ use of deadly force — primarily, shooting people — from 44 incidents in 2023 to 60 incidents in 2024.
—Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2025
Everyone chases trends while their million-dollar ideas get explained away.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2025
This social belief explained away female self-expression as irrational and undesirable.
—Katie Collom, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Additional forms cannot explain away a 36% increase in officers’ use of deadly force — primarily, shooting people — from 44 incidents in 2023 to 60 incidents in 2024.
—Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2025
Everyone chases trends while their million-dollar ideas get explained away.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explain away
Verb
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Erika Kirk also explained why a small stuffed puppet was sitting beside Kirk’s empty microphone.—
Stephanie Murray,
AZCentral.com,
27 Sep. 2025
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Instead, Pittsburgh’s defense rested on the idea that the taxes equal out when considering the school-district tax—a point, as explained above, that failed to persuade the judges who have presided over this litigation.—
Robert Raiola,
Sportico.com,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Celebrating or excusing violence is abhorrent.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
21 Sep. 2025
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In his statement, Djerf said that this diagnosis did not excuse his actions.—
Alia Shoaib,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Fundamentals Relative to peers, FTNT trades at a modest premium on forward P/E multiples, but its profitability metrics far exceed industry averages, justifying upside potential.—
Tony Zhang,
CNBC,
24 Sep. 2025
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Two years out, the consensus rises modestly to $69, and to $77 five years from now, levels many independents say are too low to justify new drilling.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
24 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explain%20away. Accessed 28 Sep. 2025.
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