explained away

verb

past tense of explain away
1
as in explained
to give the reason for or cause of after the surprise attack, military leaders struggled to explain away the nation's unpreparedness

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in excused
to make (something) seem less bad by offering excuses tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of explained away There are other options, but regardless of what’s on the table for the future, burnout deserves to be taken seriously rather than explained away out of pride, guilt, or habit. — Scott Hanson, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 Certainly, there are swing issues that can’t be explained away by a good week at Triple-A. — John Shipley, Twin Cities, 29 May 2026 Production is either exalted or explained away. — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026 The famed African American journalist investigated lynchings across the South and wrote about the savage incidents that the white press had already explained away. — Case Thorp, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2026 Endometriosis has long been stigmatized and patient pain often explained away through other diagnoses, with the average diagnostic delay for endometriosis lasting four to 11 years. — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 26 Mar. 2026 Now, could it be maybe explained away? — Lauren A. White, CBS News, 22 Feb. 2026 One downside of Oza’s model, Kipping notes, is that any fluctuations in the levels of sulfur dioxide, sodium and potassium observed on WASP-39b can be easily explained away as variability in eruptions. — Nola Taylor Tillman, Scientific American, 13 Oct. 2025 Maybe the nuns could be transformed into spa therapists at a wellness retreat and the toxin explained away as a surfeit of matcha. — Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for explained away
  1. explained
  2. excused
  3. justified
Verb
  • But in a conversation with The Athletic, Bass explained that missing the entire 2025 season and undergoing sports hernia surgery taught him to value the entire NFL kicking experience, even the misses that come with such a high-pressure job.
    — Tim Graham, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • However, Lai explained that the launcher could, in theory, deliver explosive payloads designed to detonate near a target.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of explained
Verb
  • Yet Messi himself had been silent until now, after flying to his hometown Rosario in Argentina to attend Jorge’s funeral after he was excused by his current club Inter Miami.
    — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Patrick, who is divorced from Lindsay Clancy and has since remarried, was on the stand to start the day but was excused after emotional direct questioning about the day his children were killed.
    — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 29 July 2026
Definition of excused
Verb
  • For example, a model that looked differentiated six months ago becomes a commodity, or a feature that justified a custom build suddenly has multiple vendor alternatives.
    — Abhishek Bahl, Forbes.com, 17 Aug. 2026
  • He's viewed by many as a vigilante whose actions against an unfair health care system were justified.
    — Brian Mann, NPR, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of justified

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explained
explained away
explaining
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Cite this Entry

“Explained away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/explained%20away. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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