as in explained
to make plain or understandable
the dating applicant spelled out exactly what she wanted in a man
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Recent Examples of spelled out
In the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, Congress spelled out that it is generally forbidden to use the military for civilian law enforcement.
—
Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Kulture also holds a place of honor on her father's face — Offset has her name spelled out in cursive font on his jawline.
—Grace Gavilanes, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
During a private memorial, a huge floral tribute on the grounds of the mansion spelled out, 'OZZY F---ING OSBOURNE', on the banks of the Osbournes' lake.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025
But the exceptions spelled out in NASA’s shutdown plans this week go even further, allowing work to continue on Artemis III — the landmark moon-landing mission currently slated for mid-2027 — as well as Artemis missions expected to fly later this decade or next.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
The slithering snakes and biting lyrics spelled out revenge.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
The Star went to court to seek the release of the information that spelled out which firefighters the union was referring to and the details of the incidents, but the city and the union successfully fought to keep the information secret.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2025
The hierarchy of money is present in both conceptions, it is not spelled out explicitly in either conception.
—Vipin Bharathan, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Not that the down-to-earth stage royal visualizes her name spelled out in lights.
—Matthew Gurewitsch, Air Mail, 16 Aug. 2025
Jeannie Suk Gersen, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2025
Kulture also holds a place of honor on her father's face — Offset has her name spelled out in cursive font on his jawline.
—Grace Gavilanes, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
During a private memorial, a huge floral tribute on the grounds of the mansion spelled out, 'OZZY F---ING OSBOURNE', on the banks of the Osbournes' lake.
—Christina Dugan Ramirez, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025
But the exceptions spelled out in NASA’s shutdown plans this week go even further, allowing work to continue on Artemis III — the landmark moon-landing mission currently slated for mid-2027 — as well as Artemis missions expected to fly later this decade or next.
—Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 3 Oct. 2025
The slithering snakes and biting lyrics spelled out revenge.
—Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
The Star went to court to seek the release of the information that spelled out which firefighters the union was referring to and the details of the incidents, but the city and the union successfully fought to keep the information secret.
—Judy L. Thomas, Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2025
The hierarchy of money is present in both conceptions, it is not spelled out explicitly in either conception.
—Vipin Bharathan, Forbes.com, 13 Sep. 2025
Not that the down-to-earth stage royal visualizes her name spelled out in lights.
—Matthew Gurewitsch, Air Mail, 16 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spelled out
Verb
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The Athletic recently explained UEFA’s primary two financial regulations — the football-earnings rule and the squad-cost rule.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Bhavya Lal, a Professor of Policy Analysis with RAND School of Public Policy and a former NASA associate administrator for technology, policy, and strategy, explained in an interview with SpaceNews.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Chicago Bank President Austan Goolsbee illustrated the central bank’s shifting tone.—
Taylor Millard,
The Washington Examiner,
10 Oct. 2025
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Lou Tingle's vast merit badge collection from his days with Troop 228 illustrated just how much more Steiger had to learn about survival, agriculture, craftsmanship and life in general.—
Maggie Menderski,
Louisville Courier Journal,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This might beg the question of the benefit of interplanting if crops don’t provide their maximum yield, but comparing the nutritional yield of polyculture versus monoculture parcels of land demonstrated that interplanting yielded greater nutritional value per hectare despite the lower crop yields.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
14 Oct. 2025
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The researchers also demonstrated its practical application by using it to control smart home appliances, such as turning an air conditioner and a lamp on and off through voice commands.—
Atharva Gosavi,
Interesting Engineering,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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For the first time, FWP clarified that the boycott does not apply to non-Israeli organizations linked to companies in the Jewish state.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
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The details of how citizens will be able to review these explanations in the context of procurement, however, have not been clarified.—
Tharin Pillay,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The last-second defeat brought about some pretty amplified emotions from Dolphins players and fans, prompting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who threw three interceptions in the loss, to call out the team’s leadership, which many interpreted as a veiled shot at McDaniel.—
Michael Gallagher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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Backlash toward Rowling started in 2020 after the author posted several tweets and a 3,600-word essay that many interpreted as transphobic.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The relationships that Mark forms in the course of his career are similarly simplified—principally, his hearty bromance with Mark Coleman (Ryan Bader), who is first his trainer and then, entering the circuit himself, a competitor.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2025
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In 1999, the Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) was released, which allowed mobile phones to receive and display simplified, phone-friendly pages using WML instead of the standard HTML markup language.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spelled out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spelled%20out. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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