to make plain or clear; render understandable or intelligible

to explain an obscure point.

to make known in detail

to explain how to do something.

to assign a meaning to; interpret

How can you explain such a silly remark?

to make clear the cause or reason of; account for

I cannot explain his strange behavior.

to give an explanation. ?

explain away,

to diminish or nullify the significance of by explanation

He couldn't explain away his absence from home at the time the robbery was committed.

to dispel (doubts, difficulties, etc.) by explanation

She explained away the child's fears.

verb

be vague , complicate , confuse , mystify , obscure , perplex

verb

account for , analyze , annotate , break down , bring out , clarify , clear up , construe , decipher , define , demonstrate , describe , diagram , disclose , elucidate , excuse , explicate , expound , get across * , go into detail , illustrate , interpret , justify , make plain , manifest , paraphrase , point out , put across , put in plain english , rationalize , read , refine , render , resolve , reveal , set right , solve , spell out * , teach , tell , throw light upon , translate , unfold , unravel , untanglenotes:explicate also contains the implication that the something of which an account is being given is more complicated or detailed - so while one may explain why a child is crying , one would explicate the meaning of a poem or implications of a legal document; early senses of explain were \'smooth out\' and \'spread flat\' , spell out , amplify , dilate , elaborate , expand , expatiate , exposit , illuminate , make clear , simplify

phrasal verb

gloss over , gloze , palliate , sleek over , whitewash