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
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.
The company might have trouble explaining away those claims, which are partly based on a study of some 30 million daily users. Nick Rockel, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2024 The quarterback attempted to explain away the situation after the fact. Vincent Frank, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024 Will explains away all of the suspicious pieces of evidence pointing in his direction. Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024 In their universe, Trump was waging a secret war against the deep state, and no matter what happened in the real world—like Trump losing the 2020 election, or being found guilty in court—it was always explained away as being part of the plan. David Gilbert, WIRED, 14 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for explain away 

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 25 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

explain away

verb
: to cause to seem less important by explaining
explained away her mistake
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!