1
as in explaining
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 glossing (over)
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses
tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explaining away
Verb
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Looking more broadly at the effect of unions on nonunion pay, the effect goes up, with the decline in union membership explaining a third of the total increase in wage inequality for men.—
Laura Clawson,
JSTOR Daily,
1 Sep. 2025 -
McDaniel seemingly echoed his players’ sentiments, explaining that the focus should be on who made it over those that did not.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Bob felt that Clark Gilmer was 'justifying the harm' done to trans people in her comments about King.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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One of the report's key authors has a lengthy record of bias against Israel, including openly justifying the Houthi terrorist attacks on Israeli civilian targets.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
29 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Explaining away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explaining%20away. Accessed 5 Sep. 2025.
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