explain away
Britishverb
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.
When something frightening develops gradually, we explain away warning signs because they don’t fit the world we already know.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
It is hard to imagine PEN would explain away the exclusion of another disfavored minority’s books as a question of “business or taste.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
“In the coming days, network leadership may attempt to hide behind corporate euphemisms like ‘modernization’ and ‘restructuring’ to explain away my departure,” Alfonsi said.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2026
Collagen is the primary structural protein found in bone tissue and one of the hardest biomolecules to explain away as contamination when identified in this context.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
However, at the bottom of the report there were a few well- chosen comments from the school nurse that not even Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia could explain away.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
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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.
