explain away

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explain away

verb explains away · explaining away · explained away

transitive To dismiss or minimize (a problem, etc.) by explanation. He couldn't just explain away all of his problems.

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verb to dismiss or minimize by explanation

Deutsch	wegerklären
Русский	отделываться otdelyvatʹsja, оправдываться opravdyvatʹsja

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MLA

"explain away." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/explain%20away. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

explain away. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/explain%20away

Chicago

"explain away." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/explain%20away.

BibTeX

@misc{explain_away_2026,
  title = {explain away},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/explain%20away},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}