1
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
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2
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
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Recent Examples of explain away
The Mouse House also seems dead set on retconning all of its best villains, with recent movies giving weepy sob stories to Cruella de Vil, Maleficent and Scar to explain away their cruelty.
—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 May 2026
There was no explaining away a mistake like that.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Production is either exalted or explained away.
—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Apr. 2026
Offscreen, some fans accuse Wyle of explaining away or downplaying his fictional character’s cruelty, and of a constellation of other sins, including envy of his fellow actors’ credentials.
—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
24 May 2026
There was no explaining away a mistake like that.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
Production is either exalted or explained away.
—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
23 Apr. 2026
Offscreen, some fans accuse Wyle of explaining away or downplaying his fictional character’s cruelty, and of a constellation of other sins, including envy of his fellow actors’ credentials.
—
Scottie Andrew,
CNN Money,
15 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for explain away
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explain away
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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Demings uses the go-to excuse that state legislation bans using the TDT on local projects.
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She’s been canceled, kidnapped, and bamboozled, happy to tell anyone who’ll listen, and who’ll excuse her typos.
Verb
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Wall Street is increasingly punishing Big Tech companies for spending on AI without profits to justify it.
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Thus far, Meta was only monetizing AI through its advertising, which is a great business but can be cyclical and was not enough to justify using all its cash flow.
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explain%20away. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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