explain away

verb

explained away; explaining away; explains away

transitive verb

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 awayM. 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 

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.

Word History

First Known Use

1688, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of explain away was in 1688

Dictionary Entries Near explain away

Cite this Entry

“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explain%20away. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

explain away

verb
: to cause to seem less important by explaining
explained away her mistake
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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