explanation
Americannoun
-
explanations
plural
-
the act or process of explaining.
- Synonyms:
- description, interpretation, exposition, explication, elucidation
-
something that explains; a statement made to clarify something and make it understandable; exposition.
an explanation of a poem.
-
a meaning or interpretation.
to find an explanation for a mystery.
-
a mutual declaration of the meaning of words spoken, actions, motives, etc., with a view to adjusting a misunderstanding or reconciling differences.
After a long and emotional explanation they were friends again.
noun
-
the act or process of explaining
-
a statement or occurrence that explains
-
a clarification of disputed terms or points; reconciliation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of explanation
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English explanacioun, from Latin explānātiōn-, stem of explānātiō, from explānāt(us) “made understandable” (past participle of explānāre “to smooth out, make understandable”) + -iō -ion; see explain
Explanation
An explanation is a statement about how or why something is the way it is. If you're failing math, you'd better come up with a good explanation to give to your parents. Explanation is from the same Latin word as explain: explanare, which means make clear. Because explanation and explain are so closely related, people often try to shoehorn an extra i into the spelling of explanation. Don't. You might think that explanation has the odd spelling, but it is really the more regular of the two because there is no i in explanare.
Vocabulary lists containing explanation
The Language of Standardized Tests, List 1
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PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Aggregate figures cannot isolate Maia’s contribution, so management’s explanation of infrastructure costs and product mix will matter.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026
The research also provides a clearer explanation for why Germany's nuclear program failed to make the transition from experimental reactor designs to a working reactor capable of producing material for an atomic bomb.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
But Prof Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London, who was not involved in the research, told BBC News that an attack by a rival was the more plausible explanation.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
That suggests that the impact of the AI boom on current and capital accounts is a more likely explanation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
I wanted there to be more, another explanation, but the more I thought about it, the more trapped and tangled I felt, and I knew that there was nothing more.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
The TSE requested explanations from the company, which cited "technical problems" worldwide.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Other explanations for this high number include properties awaiting renovation, or legal disputes between family members who have inherited them.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Armand considers a series of increasingly sinister explanations as he tries to make sense of Daisy’s back story and how it might relate to the body in the cemetery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Lacking the necessary technology and expertise to answer that question, museum curators stored the mysterious fragments while competing explanations remained unresolved.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Jam knew that her mother would want answers, explanations, things unraveled into a pattern that she could accept as rational.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
