explain
Usage
What are other ways to say explain?
To explain is to make plain, clear, or intelligible something that is not known or understood: to explain a theory or a problem. To elucidate is to throw light on what before was dark and obscure, usually by illustration and commentary and sometimes by elaborate explanation: They asked him to elucidate his statement. To expound is to give a methodical, detailed, scholarly explanation of something, usually Scriptures, doctrines, or philosophy: to expound the doctrine of free will. To interpret is to give the meaning of something by paraphrase, by translation, or by an explanation based on personal opinion: to interpret a poem or a symbol.
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.
This is me trying my best to explain hockey without getting an angry phone call from Don Cherry or Mark Messier.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
If the company insists that this is a separate problem, ask them to explain why a toilet that functioned one way before the repair and another way immediately afterward should attract a second diagnostic fee.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 10, 2026
The corporation did not explain why it had started announcing the celebrities early, but said further contestants would be revealed "throughout the summer" before the series launches in September.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
The Amaterasu particle has been especially difficult to explain because its estimated arrival direction traces back to a cosmic void, a region of space with no clear source capable of producing ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays.
From Science Daily • Jun. 9, 2026
What if they were about to explain more, explain everything?
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Vocabulary lists containing explain
PARCC: Language of the Test (Grade7)
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Jim Burke's Academic Vocabulary List
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The SAT: Language of the Test, List 4
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