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Synonyms

explain away

British  

verb

  1. (tr, adverb) to offer excuses or reasons for (bad conduct, mistakes, etc)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
explain away Idioms  

  1. Dismiss or minimize the importance of something, especially something detrimental. For example, “His words were taken down, and though he tried to explain them away, he was sent to the Tower” (Thomas Macaulay, The History of England, 1855). [c. 1700]

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.

Team USA has always had a convenient excuse to explain away its disappointing track record in the World Baseball Classic.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026

One of them attempted to explain away her condition by claiming it was difficult to speak when reporting from cold climates.

From Barron's • Feb. 19, 2026

There are reasons, credible ones even, to explain away why they left Minnesota empty-handed.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 28, 2025

But they can't really explain away the documents.

From Salon • Apr. 23, 2024

Subconsciously you feel that you must attempt to explain away your failure, as an intellectual and soldier of ideas, to actively participate in critical social movements.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.