EXPLAINING Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

explaining

verb

present participle of explain

as in clarifying

to make plain or understandable a pamphlet that explains the medical procedure in language that any layperson can understand

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in justifying

to give the reason for or cause of can you explain your very odd behavior at the wedding reception?

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Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of explaining Try explaining to the average Chicago taxpayer that the city is reacquiring its meters but very little will change on the streets. — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026 John Buse of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill took his place, explaining the situation to attendees in remarks critical of the ADA’s actions. — Jennifer Ouellette, ArsTechnica, 17 July 2026 Whether introducing operational changes or organizational transformation, explaining the purpose behind decisions often matters as much as the decision itself. — Dr. Asma Al Aufi, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 To make your parenting choices clear, however, Esmaeilpour says parents might try explaining your reasoning. — Hannah Nwoko, Parents, 17 July 2026 These are the words of Argentina President Javier Milei who was busy explaining his superstitions to a local radio show after watching his nation make the World Cup final. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 17 July 2026 Carpino retired in April, without ever explaining what was not right in the organization or, based on the standings, repairing it. — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2026 His better-than-ever serve and greater aggressiveness in his game go a long way toward explaining why Djokovic has a chance of winning a record 25th Grand Slam title next week at Wimbledon, aged 39. — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 5 July 2026 An ambulance was needed, the health administrator told the operator, explaining where emergency responders should go upon arrival at the facility. — Perla Trevizo, ProPublica, 3 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for explaining

Verb

For an oily scalp, more frequent washing may be necessary, or clarifying shampoos may be useful.

— Sherri Gordon, Health, 13 July 2026
Minutes later royal sources counter-briefed, clarifying that Harry had not formally accepted the invite in time, and that the offer had since been withdrawn.

— The Week UK, TheWeek, 8 July 2026

Definition of clarifying

Verb

Kennedy made the changes unilaterally rather than going through a panel of experts, as has long been standard, and Spear wrote the accompanying report justifying the changes, according to three people familiar with the process.

— CNN Money, CNN Money, 16 July 2026
These figures are considerable for a hardware enterprise, justifying a high valuation.

— Trefis Team, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026

Definition of justifying

Verb

That said, Nolan does an amazing job at illustrating just how crucial time factored into this battle.

— Randy Myers, Mercury News, 14 July 2026
Oil threatens to spoil the market rally … again The Iran war returned to Wall Street's doorstep last week, illustrating the fragility of the interim peace agreement between Washington and Tehran.

— Alexa LoMonaco, CNBC, 11 July 2026

Definition of illustrating

Verb

But the notion of ends rationalizing the means is problematic on many levels, most of all because without boundaries and structure there is chaos, and few have the same means and leverage at their disposal.

— Vahe Gregorian July 7, Kansas City Star, 7 July 2026
As the show began to wrap up, Goldberg aimed to try to tie in the book, asking Vance about rationalizing his Catholic faith with a hard-line stance on immigration.

— Meg Kinnard, Chicago Tribune, 16 June 2026

Definition of rationalizing

Verb

But the same questions came up after the Super Bowl and Kalshi quickly bounced back and continued to grow — even before the World Cup began — demonstrating the benefit of having such a wide array of events to bet on.

— Nathaniel Popper, Fortune, 19 July 2026
These shocks would have pushed almost any country into a severe crisis, and that’s exactly what happened, demonstrating to the world how sanctions really could destroy an economy.

— Mark Weisbrot, Twin Cities, 19 July 2026

Definition of demonstrating

Verb

But if our estimates stand, our figure is substantially lower than some more sensational reports, which may not be correct in attributing bigger hikes in electric bills to data centers.

— Daniel Yue, Fortune, 14 July 2026
However, some have cautioned against attributing the decline solely to the vaccine.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026

Definition of attributing

Verb

Managing those demands — simplifying decisions, controlling tempo and conserving energy — may be as much a feature of playing in the heat as the physical strain itself.

— Alan McCall, New York Times, 11 July 2026
The reform also significantly expanded access to medical cannabis by removing it from the country's list of narcotic drugs, simplifying medical cannabis prescribing.

— Dario Sabaghi, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of simplifying

Verb

LLMs, for example, are not given robust, explicit prescriptions on grammar, or an overly structured map for interpreting what matters and why about every point of knowledge in their datasets.

— ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 13 July 2026
The murder and its fraught causes are recounted by a Bengali analyst, who is himself interpreting them from the records of a different analyst with connections to Chatterjee’s two living children.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 13 July 2026