explains away

verb

present tense third-person singular of explain away
1
as in explains
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 excuses
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 explains away
  1. explains
  2. excuses
  3. justifies
Verb
  • Lobello explains why soccer is such an efficient form of exercise and what the World Cup could mean for adults looking to get active.
    — Nicole Williams, AJC.com, 14 July 2026
  • While sharing her Beauty Secrets with Vogue, the 20-year-old explains that the bittersweet ballad was inspired by a Japanese phrase that means, essentially, everything beautiful is temporary.
    — Jenny Berg, Vogue, 14 July 2026
Definition of explains
Verb
  • In another instance, Mecklenburg allegedly excuses skeptical grand jurors from serving after arguing with them.
    — Hannah Meisel, CBS News, 9 June 2026
  • With no more patients in the waiting room, Dua excuses herself to see Haynes in the OR, where medical resident Lee has begun the procedure.
    — Elizabeth Cooney, STAT, 8 June 2026
Definition of excuses
Verb
  • The highest completion rate in the test still belonged to Opus, and the hardest work still justifies frontier pricing.
    — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026
  • But the evidence does not support the claim that noncitizen voting is occurring at a scale that justifies burdening millions of eligible Americans or overriding state election systems with a sweeping federal mandate.
    — Reid Ribble, Time, 8 July 2026
Definition of justifies
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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explains
explains away
explanation
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Cite this Entry

“Explains away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explains%20away. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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