1
as in explaining
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
Relevance
2
as in glossing (over)
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses
tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explaining away
Verb
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Police took Taddese’s phone and vehicle as evidence, which alarmed the family, Bernard said, explaining some of the family’s reservations about the police investigation.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
12 Sep. 2025 -
About The Daily Money Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.—
Betty Lin-Fisher,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Procedures for excusing or deferring jury duty differs by county, according to the state’s judicial website.—
Tanasia Kenney,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
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Ans suggests, before politely excusing himself to go do pre-race pull-ups with his brother in the woods across the street.—
Abe Beame,
Rolling Stone,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The Pentagon hasn't released information publicly justifying the destruction of the boat.—
Bart Jansen,
USA Today,
7 Sep. 2025
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Bob felt that Clark Gilmer was 'justifying the harm' done to trans people in her comments about King.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Explaining away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explaining%20away. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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