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
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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
This social belief explained away female self-expression as irrational and undesirable.
—
Katie Collom, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Although the series obviously took place on Superman’s home planet, the Fortress still appeared, explained away by the revelation that it was first created as a secret science base by Zor-El, the Great Grandfather of Jor-El.
—Daryl Baxter, Space.com, 11 July 2025
Everyone chases trends while their million-dollar ideas get explained away.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
The catch is that these examples could be explained away as automatic.
—Christian Wolf, Scientific American, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Katie Collom, People.com, 12 Aug. 2025
Although the series obviously took place on Superman’s home planet, the Fortress still appeared, explained away by the revelation that it was first created as a secret science base by Zor-El, the Great Grandfather of Jor-El.
—Daryl Baxter, Space.com, 11 July 2025
Everyone chases trends while their million-dollar ideas get explained away.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 3 July 2025
The catch is that these examples could be explained away as automatic.
—Christian Wolf, Scientific American, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explain away
Verb
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At each camp, the team leaves behind a small but powerful item, a red card that explains what to do during encounters with immigration officials.—
David Rodriguez Muñoz,
Freep.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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The powers that be explained to me that in the audiobook, there would be no easy way to identify the bees’ chapters, which were designated with italics in the printed version, unless the narrator’s voice changed from female to male.—
Elizabeth Bass Parman,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But that legal reality shouldn’t excuse the behavior.—
Matt Germer,
Oc Register,
7 Sep. 2025
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Listening to these women fawn all over Julia for carrying the laird’s child, for carrying a future king, listening to them excuse away Julia being unmarried, all of it makes Davina blow a fuse.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Businesses can and should use catastrophe models themselves to establish baseline risk profiles, stress-test scenarios, quantify protection gaps, and justify resilience investments.—
Felicia Jackson,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
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Some are too flashy, while others look too plain to justify the price tag.—
Amina Ayoud,
Glamour,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explain%20away. Accessed 8 Sep. 2025.
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