1
as in explained
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 excused
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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Recent Examples of explained away
For a long time, these symptoms were dismissed or explained away.
—
CBS News, 19 Nov. 2025
One downside of Oza’s model, Kipping notes, is that any fluctuations in the levels of sulfur dioxide, sodium and potassium observed on WASP-39b can be easily explained away as variability in eruptions.
—Nola Taylor Tillman, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2025
Maybe the nuns could be transformed into spa therapists at a wellness retreat and the toxin explained away as a surfeit of matcha.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
CBS News, 19 Nov. 2025
One downside of Oza’s model, Kipping notes, is that any fluctuations in the levels of sulfur dioxide, sodium and potassium observed on WASP-39b can be easily explained away as variability in eruptions.
—Nola Taylor Tillman, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2025
Maybe the nuns could be transformed into spa therapists at a wellness retreat and the toxin explained away as a surfeit of matcha.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explained away
Verb
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In an interview with Interesting Engineering, UEL researcher Daehyun Kim explained that SCARABS focuses on exploration reliability rather than experimental payloads.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Jan. 2026
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Night vision goggles worn by the pilot and hoist operator give a tube of vision, explained Atkins.—
Alan Gionet,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Senators voted down a debate for the hemp product prohibitions 19-14, with one member excused, and said no to a kratom debate on a vote of 20-13.—
John Hult,
States Newsroom,
23 Jan. 2026
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Each norm break is excused as style.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The thing to remember is these administrative arrest warrants have been deemed justified by courts in immigration purposes.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
24 Jan. 2026
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If Orlando were merely a ghost city being floated by Rays owners, skepticism would be justified.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Explained away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explained%20away. Accessed 26 Jan. 2026.
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