as in to explain
to make plain or understandable
the physicist did his best to explicate the wave theory of light for the audience of laymen
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Recent Examples of explicate
The initial version was published in The Columbia Journal of Law & The Arts, with 248 footnotes explicating both legal and operatic precedents.
—
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
11 July 2025
Idles’s songs explicate the social and moral turmoil that youthful protesters can’t put into words, but the band’s energetic live performances and enthusiastic crowds make sense of what otherwise look like ideological whims.
—
Armond White,
National Review,
7 May 2025
Aided by its curious title, The Courage To Be Disliked is a parabolic conversation between a youth and a philosopher designed to explicate the intersection of Greek philosophy and Adlerian psychology.
—
Tim Maurer,
Forbes,
12 Jan. 2025
Each of the songs explicates a place and time of an incident or an idea in the lives of the protagonists.
—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for explicate
Jim Higgins,
jsonline.com,
11 July 2025
Idles’s songs explicate the social and moral turmoil that youthful protesters can’t put into words, but the band’s energetic live performances and enthusiastic crowds make sense of what otherwise look like ideological whims.
—
Armond White,
National Review,
7 May 2025
Aided by its curious title, The Courage To Be Disliked is a parabolic conversation between a youth and a philosopher designed to explicate the intersection of Greek philosophy and Adlerian psychology.
—
Tim Maurer,
Forbes,
12 Jan. 2025
Each of the songs explicates a place and time of an incident or an idea in the lives of the protagonists.
—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for explicate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explicate
Verb
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Faith, hope drive Venezuelan community's response The day the earthquakes struck was a holiday in Venezuela, which may explain why many families were at home when the disaster occurred, while some children were visiting friends or relatives.
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Maybe that explains her chaotic behavior when the crew goes out later that night.
Verb
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In addition to clarifying one claim, NYT also agreed to voluntarily dismiss two claims of contributory copyright infringement and trademark dilution against all defendants.
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Rich Bornstein, founder of Bornstein Media, helps leaders clarify their story before the camera turns on.
Verb
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The Pew report illustrates why homeownership is increasingly the province of older Americans, and why first-time buyers seem like a vanishing breed.
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The design and materials of devices such as bone saws, fleams and scarifacators – used to bleed veins and skin surfaces – illustrate the close affinity of humans with other animals.
Verb
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Alnaji was part of a pro-Palestinian group protesting over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza and Kessler was demonstrating in support of Israel, authorities have said.
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The resulting bio-char demonstrated a heating value of 29 MJ/kg, meaning that burning 1 kg of the fuel will provide 29 MJ of thermal energy.
Cite this Entry
“Explicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explicate. Accessed 3 Jul. 2026.
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