explain away
verb
explained away; explaining away; explains away
1
: to get rid of by or as if by explanation
2
: to minimize the significance of by or as if by explanation
explains his faults, but does not try to explain them away—
M. K. Spears
M. K. Spears
Examples of explain away in a Sentence
after the surprise attack, military leaders struggled to explain away the nation's unpreparedness
tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature
Recent Examples on the Web
This time, even Riley knew there was no sense in trying to explain away how close his Trojans had come.
—Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2024
Two losses to open the 2024-25 campaign could mostly be explained away by a pair of rough goaltending performances.
—Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2024
The final section of Wilder’s play – the three acts are performed without an intermission in this production, with Parson’s Stage Manager having some fun explaining away any confusion – is one of American drama’s most foolproof scenes, and Leon and his cast pull it off nicely.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2024
There, unlike on television, his fragmented attention, peculiar thinking, and dangerous words cannot hide or be explained away.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for explain away 
Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2024
Two losses to open the 2024-25 campaign could mostly be explained away by a pair of rough goaltending performances.
—Corey Masisak, The Denver Post, 14 Oct. 2024
The final section of Wilder’s play – the three acts are performed without an intermission in this production, with Parson’s Stage Manager having some fun explaining away any confusion – is one of American drama’s most foolproof scenes, and Leon and his cast pull it off nicely.
—Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Oct. 2024
There, unlike on television, his fragmented attention, peculiar thinking, and dangerous words cannot hide or be explained away.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for explain away
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'explain away.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explain%20away. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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