Thesaurus results for EXPLAIN AWAY

explain away

verb

Definition of explain away

as in to explain

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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as in to excuse

to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature

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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 explain away However, these people don't need prediction markets to concoct some conspiracy theory to explain away why their candidate lost. — Bobby Allyn, NPR, 27 July 2026 Those anemic numbers help explain the President’s mania for changing the subject to election fraud—laying the groundwork to explain away any losses in November, or, worse, something closer to what Himes warned about. — Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 17 July 2026 There are other options, but regardless of what’s on the table for the future, burnout deserves to be taken seriously rather than explained away out of pride, guilt, or habit. — Scott Hanson, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 These subtle shifts are easy to explain away and even easier to ignore. — Tatiana Dias, Vogue, 30 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for explain away

Recent Examples of Synonyms for explain away

Verb

One of the questions, directed to David Hunt, director of finance for Entergy Arkansas, asks him to explain the reasoning for the classification of the payments.

— Sydney Sasser, Arkansas Online, 1 Sep. 2026
Bernadette explains the racial nuances the Guardians might not know as newcomers to Earth, echoing the landmark 1971 Green Lantern/Green Arrow comic series, which attempts to bring the space cops down to Earth by exposing them to racial strife.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of explain

Verb

The jury requested to be excused for the day hours after telling Judge William Sullivan that it was deadlocked and could not reach a unanimous decision.

— Corky Siemaszko, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2026
As Korean growth picks up, President Lee Jae Myung could be excused for thinking his job as an economic reformer is done.

— William Pesek, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of excuse

Verb

Long-term resource potential Technical performance alone cannot justify a project; economic balance governs actual field deployment.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 2 Sep. 2026
The prosecution and defense both gave closing arguments Tuesday during the second preliminary hearing since July, which is a limited purpose proceeding held for a judge to determine whether the charges are justified.

— Andi Babineau, CNN Money, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of justify

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explainable

explain away

explained

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“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explain%20away. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of explain away

verb

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