1
as in clarifying
to make plain or understandable
a pamphlet that explains the medical procedure in language that any layperson can understand
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in justifying
to give the reason for or cause of
can you explain your very odd behavior at the wedding reception?
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of explaining
Therefore, telling the story in graphic form on behalf of Ukrainians themselves, explaining the preconditions for Russia’s attempts to erase Ukraine as a sovereign country and Ukrainians as an ethnic group, became extremely relevant.
—
Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Nicotine use had the strongest impact on heart health, explaining 34% of the link between late bedtime and heart disease.
—Dr. Joseph Wendt, ABC News, 28 Jan. 2026
The singer-songwriter revealed the news of his upcoming project on social media, posting the album cover and explaining his process in putting together the record.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026
An operations lead spends an hour explaining a system limitation to a customer who wanted someone to just fix it.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
The report says the girl’s statements and attitude weren’t consistent with those of an innocent person explaining the facts.
—Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Sutton is an emergency medical physician as well as a medical correspondent for ABC News, where he can be found explaining everyday health issues such as identifying measles symptoms and how to limit microplastic exposure to a general audience.
—Alexa Lee, STAT, 27 Jan. 2026
On Monday, the coach took to social media with a string of posts explaining his departure, expounding on a situation with many layers.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Brown shared a statement explaining his absence with CBS Mornings and Today as the remaining members of the cast — Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, and new design expert Jeremiah Brent — appeared without him.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Jan. 2026
Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Nicotine use had the strongest impact on heart health, explaining 34% of the link between late bedtime and heart disease.
—Dr. Joseph Wendt, ABC News, 28 Jan. 2026
The singer-songwriter revealed the news of his upcoming project on social media, posting the album cover and explaining his process in putting together the record.
—Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 28 Jan. 2026
An operations lead spends an hour explaining a system limitation to a customer who wanted someone to just fix it.
—Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes.com, 28 Jan. 2026
The report says the girl’s statements and attitude weren’t consistent with those of an innocent person explaining the facts.
—Silas Morgan, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2026
Sutton is an emergency medical physician as well as a medical correspondent for ABC News, where he can be found explaining everyday health issues such as identifying measles symptoms and how to limit microplastic exposure to a general audience.
—Alexa Lee, STAT, 27 Jan. 2026
On Monday, the coach took to social media with a string of posts explaining his departure, expounding on a situation with many layers.
—Brendan Connelly, Boston Herald, 27 Jan. 2026
Brown shared a statement explaining his absence with CBS Mornings and Today as the remaining members of the cast — Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Antoni Porowski, and new design expert Jeremiah Brent — appeared without him.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explaining
Verb
-
Rather than clarifying events surrounding Epstein's death, the footage appears to complicate the official narrative, and contradicts some prior statements about the prison's surveillance system.—
Daniel Ruetenik,
CBS News,
31 Dec. 2025
-
The death certificates for Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner are clarifying the timeline of their deaths.—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Husband-chef and wife-farmer duo Kyle and Katina Connaughton are culinary dynamos who create pure magic on every plate served at SingleThread, more than justifying the lengthy waitlist for reservations.—
Kathryn Romeyn,
Travel + Leisure,
21 Jan. 2026
-
In justifying the need for the county’s investment, county Commissioner Andrew Sommerman noted the burden homeless individuals are placing on the jail, Dallas Area Rapid Transit’s buses and trains, and the Parkland Hospital emergency department.—
Tracey McManus,
Dallas Morning News,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
The 1,300-student California College of Arts had previously laid off 10% of its staff and instituted a series of budget cuts, illustrating the economic pressures facing small schools that are dealing with increasingly dire finances.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Olous is a rare example of a city slowly claimed by the sea, illustrating how gradual environmental change can erase urban centers over centuries while leaving their remains quietly visible below the surface.—
Kaif Shaikh,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Instead of rationalizing it, seeing it from his shoes and changing your tactics with him.—
E. Alex Jung,
Vulture,
13 Nov. 2025
-
Aeffe is rationalizing its retail network and earlier this month the board approved the early termination of the rental contract signed with two real estate firms, Colloportus and FQuattro, respectively controlled by designer Alberta Ferretti and her brother, executive chairman Massimo Ferretti.—
Luisa Zargani,
Footwear News,
11 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The Exception Code — Jonathan Johannes A leadership framework informed by a landmark Caribbean banking acquisition, demonstrating that culture, trust, and integration challenges—and solutions—are global.—
Jennifer J. Fondrevay,
Forbes.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
In demonstrating the technology to CalMatters, using an imaginary 56-year-old female patient who complained of trouble breathing, Scope asked several follow-up questions to drill down on her symptoms.—
Cal Matters,
Mercury News,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Still, the predatory hawks that used to feed on those birds haven’t returned this year, Moore said, attributing their absence to avian flu.—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2026
-
Lord of the Rings franchise director Peter Jackson joined the billionaires club in November 2021, with Forbes attributing his financial status to selling a stake in his company, Weta Digital, for $975 million.—
Diane J. Cho,
PEOPLE,
18 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Lame, who’s risen to fame with wordless videos simplifying everyday life hacks, has built a global following of 360 million people on TikTok and Instagram, according to the statement.—
Katarina Hoije,
Bloomberg,
27 Jan. 2026
-
By simplifying the process of writing code, the tool hints at a more democratized digital era.—
Theara Coleman,
TheWeek,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Interestingly, the clip of the penguin proved something of a Rorschach test, with some viewing the creature as a lonely outcast, and others interpreting the penguin’s journey as a quest for adventure.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
-
Understanding Latin America is not merely a requirement for interpreting headlines about Venezuela but a prerequisite for Americans to understand themselves and their place in the world.—
Ana L. Ros,
The Conversation,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Explaining.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explaining. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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