as in to explain
to make plain or understandable
the dating applicant spelled out exactly what she wanted in a man
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spell out
The lengthy bill spells out those restrictions.
—
Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
The health secretary has started a $50 million autism research initiative, and health agencies have shuttered webpages that spelled out the risks of therapies that aren’t supported by evidence and often have dangerous side effects.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 19 Mar. 2026
Does that spell out anything in the predictive tea leaves?
—Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
This is the idea spelled out in loop quantum gravity, or in causal sets.
—Quanta Magazine, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spell out
Andy Sheehan, CBS News, 23 Mar. 2026
The health secretary has started a $50 million autism research initiative, and health agencies have shuttered webpages that spelled out the risks of therapies that aren’t supported by evidence and often have dangerous side effects.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 19 Mar. 2026
Does that spell out anything in the predictive tea leaves?
—Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2026
This is the idea spelled out in loop quantum gravity, or in causal sets.
—Quanta Magazine, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spell out
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spell out
Verb
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Using a synesthetic logic all his own, Torres explains why Dwayne (the Rock) Johnson is orange, Catholicism is purple, and navy blue is the nefarious color that secretly runs the world.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
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For an overview of small business tax responsibilities, see IRS Publication 583, which explains general filing and recordkeeping requirements.—
Nancy Ashburn,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The war in Iran and bottleneck in the Strait of Hormuz is further illustrating the need to integrate newer tools into modern warfare.—
Samantha Subin,
CNBC,
31 Mar. 2026
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In the interview, Warsh illustrated this with a story from 2006, when he was nominated to the Fed’s Board of Governors and sought advice from former chair Paul Volcker.—
Paul Wachtel,
The Conversation,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Stepping outside your everyday life has a way of clarifying what actually matters, and returning home with fresh eyes often makes the decisions that felt tough seem far more manageable.—
Kirah Tabourn,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Mar. 2026
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Start by clarifying priorities and boundaries this morning, then build steady momentum through the afternoon as support gathers and timing clicks into place.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The idea behind this is to invoke the double-slit experiment, which demonstrates how light behaves as both a particle and a wave, depending on how it is observed.—
David Szondy
March 28,
New Atlas,
28 Mar. 2026
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Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson has demonstrated — across decades of team research — that psychological safety is the single strongest predictor of team performance.—
Charles Edward Gehrke,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spell out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spell%20out. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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