spelled out

verb

past tense of spell out
as in explained
to make plain or understandable the dating applicant spelled out exactly what she wanted in a man

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of spelled out So, every task turns into a long list of dos and don'ts, with edge cases spelled out and exceptions named one by one. — Kayode Faturoti, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026 Ben mentioned before the risk factors that are spelled out in the SpaceX IPO, right? — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 3 July 2026 Adding to the authenticity, grittiness and realness of The Guest is the fact that some of the past between the characters gets hinted at but not always spelled out. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 July 2026 An arrangement of baby blue, navy and yellow flowers that spelled out his name. — Bracey Harris, NBC news, 28 June 2026 In each case, council members had to decide whether to use their power, spelled out in the City Charter, to suspend colleagues accused of wrongdoing — stripping away their duties until their criminal cases were resolved. — Los Angeles City Hall, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026 The 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a long and granular instrument that spelled out, in detail, the limits on Iran’s nuclear program. — Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 19 June 2026 Its plight is spelled out in securities filings containing cryptic language. — CBS News, 11 June 2026 The medical examiner’s role, spelled out in Florida statute, requires the dead be identified, injuries and wounds be documented and cause and manner of death be determined. — Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spelled out
  1. explained
  2. illustrated
  3. demonstrated
  4. clarified
  5. interpreted
  6. simplified
Verb
  • So how much of the show’s multiverse can be explained by science?
    — Michael Schneider, Variety, 24 July 2026
  • They’re also equipped with solar arrays that generate twice as much power as prior generations, a SpaceX business analyst explained in a livestream.
    — Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 24 July 2026
Definition of explained
Verb
  • The show’s first trailer, which debuted during DC Studios’ Hall H panel, illustrated its commitment to using traditional cop show tropes on a comic book property.
    — Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 24 July 2026
  • This was starkly illustrated by Sunday’s final, which ended with Spain beating Argentina 1-0 courtesy of Ferran Torres’s extra-time goal.
    — The Week UK, TheWeek, 24 July 2026
Definition of illustrated
Verb
  • Ultra Maritime demonstrated a counter-unmanned underwater vehicle (C-UUV) capability during the US Navy’s Lanternfish 2026 exercise.
    — Aditya Jadhav, Interesting Engineering, 24 July 2026
  • Since then, the administration has demonstrated its willingness to implement a variety of those laws to rebuild the president's tariff regime.
    — Danielle Kurtzleben, NPR, 24 July 2026
Definition of demonstrated
Verb
  • Crochet clarified his diagnosis remains left shoulder inflammation, specifically the capsule.
    — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 22 July 2026
  • Despite that, the FDA clarified on X that the Taylor Farms lettuce is most likely the cause.
    — Amy Feldman, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of clarified
Verb
  • They have been interpreted and reimagined for centuries, always reflecting the fears and concerns of the societies that retell them.
    — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 24 July 2026
  • These announcements show interest from frontier model developers and hyperscale cloud providers, but they should not be interpreted as identical or as immediate purchase orders.
    — Steve McDowell, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of interpreted
Verb
  • Undeterred, the team simplified things and fed AlphaFold only the DNA, RNA, and Cas9 protein, since the latter is the primary factor determining its sequence specificity.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 24 July 2026
  • However, the design has been simplified with some components omitted or swapped for less complex ones.
    — David Szondy July 22, New Atlas, 23 July 2026
Definition of simplified

Browse Nearby Words

spelled
spelled out
speller
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spelled out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spelled%20out. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of parochial

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All