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View synonyms for explanation

explanation

[ ek-spluh-ney-shuhn ]

noun

  1. the act or process of explaining.

    Synonyms: elucidation, description, interpretation, exposition, explication

  2. something that explains; a statement made to clarify something and make it understandable; exposition:

    an explanation of a poem.

  3. a meaning or interpretation:

    to find an explanation for a mystery.

    Synonyms: answer, key, solution

  4. 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.



explanation

/ ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən /

noun

  1. the act or process of explaining
  2. a statement or occurrence that explains
  3. a clarification of disputed terms or points; reconciliation
“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


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Other Words From

  • over·expla·nation noun
  • preex·pla·nation noun
  • reex·pla·nation noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of explanation1

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; explain
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Example Sentences

They may be accurate, or there may be a reasonable explanation for everything.

Now, there could be several explanations for the absences this year.

From Fortune

McIlroy told reporters the PGA Tour was informed Monday that a course volunteer acknowledged stepping on his ball while looking for it in the rough, providing an explanation of how the ball might have become embedded after taking a bounce.

Bill Murray is Bill Murray — the best possible explanation for why he was nominated for “On the Rocks,” but not co-star Rashida Jones.

In explanation, administrators have pointed to the nation’s inability to contain the coronavirus pandemic, but another factor may have been outspoken advocacy from teachers’ associations, which have pushed for remote learning from the start.

Have you looked around the American Dental Association website for an explanation of how fluoridation actually works?

This was later repurposed in Europe as an explanation for racial superiority, and the term “Aryan” came to define a white race.

That explanation is believable…but increasingly less so when you hear Jay talk about the nature of his relationship with Adnan.

Pakistani security officials offer a more nuanced explanation.

The deacon said he is demanding an explanation from Williams.

"There is no more war," Brion translated for Ulv, realizing that the Disan had understood nothing of the explanation.

And yet, the acknowledged state of things here is a grave fact which challenges inquiry and demands explanation.

The explanation of his mysterious earlier moods offered itself with a clarity that was ghastly.

If you were to have a frank explanation with her, Blanche would very soon throw Jim Crow out of the window.

"But it was n't a lie," Punch would begin, charging into a laboured explanation that landed him more hopelessly in the mire.

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