Definitions for: Explain


[v] serve as a reason or cause or justification of; "Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work"; "Her recent divorce amy explain her reluctance to date again"
[v] make palin and comprehensible; "He explained the laws of physics to his students"
[v] define; "The committe explained their plan for fund-raising to the Dean"



Webster (1913) Definition: Ex*plain", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Explained; p. pr. &
vb. n. Explaining.] [L. explandare to flatten, spread out,
explain; ex out+plandare to make level or plain, planus
plain: cf. OF. esplaner, explaner. See Plain,a., and cf.
Esplanade.]
1. To flatten; to spread out; to unfold; to expand. [Obs.]

The horse-chestnut is . . . ready to explain its
leaf. --Evelyn.

2. To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of
obscurity; to expound; to unfold and illustrate the
meaning of; as, to explain a chapter of the Bible.

Commentators to explain the difficult passages to
you. --Gay.

To explain away, to get rid of by explanation. ``Those
explain the meaning quite away.'' --Pope.

Syn: To expound; interpret; elucidate; clear up.


Ex*plain", v. i.
To give an explanation.

Synonyms: excuse, explicate

See Also: account for, alibi, clarify, clear up, comment, elucidate, inform, interpret, justify, naturalize, say, state, tell, vindicate

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