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.
See Examples For:
I explain that I trust these experts over someone without a lot of experience.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
America’s first permanent federal bankruptcy law, enacted in 1898, was designed for businesses, but individuals discovered its benefits, as Mary Eschelbach Hansen and Bradley A. Hansen explain in “Bankrupt in America.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
"Comms" - how politicians communicate and explain themselves and talk to the public - is not the be-all and end-all.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
They do not explain why Washington could borrow at a discount for 40 years while behaving like this.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
“Now, who can explain the telltale flaw in the Butterfly Cadet Frost failed to apprehend?”
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Gathered around a rectangular table, he announced his plan: five panels of outside experts would spend the next few months examining how the Fed reads the economy and explains itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The 40-year Treasury-bond bull market rested on three supports, and almost nobody explains all three, because each belongs to a different tribe of economists.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
Instead of handing over the actual text, the AI pulls out key ideas and explains them in simpler language -- something Yang thinks could be huge for students.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
While Kennedy has refrained from commenting on the current court or President Trump, he has written a memoir that tells his life story and explains the reasoning behind the major decisions of his era.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Alex explains the wisdom stuff to him, then squats to check out the canyon.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
"We put all our energy into creating protective firebreaks," he explained, but admitted "we are all scared in front of this situation."
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
The light-bodied red, Passeggiata, he explained, was a rosé gone wrong when winemakers forgot to remove the grapes’ skins at the correct time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
He sold the bonds — quietly, over nine months — and explained himself afterward.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
When temperatures rise, the females abandon their pups to hunt for food, he explained.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
If true, it may have explained the real reasons behind the great spirit silence and demonstrated early tension between the sisters.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
A single physically consistent theory capable of explaining both Jupiter's and Saturn's moon systems could also help scientists understand planets and moons outside the Solar System.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Dodger utility man Kiké Hernandez said he wasn’t going, either, explaining that he was busy rehabbing an injury.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
"The next step has to be even better," Terekh said, explaining she wants Fire Point's next public appearance to make a big impact.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
“They have had to do a lot of explaining in D.C.,”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Maya-Jade had an iPad with her and she logged onto the Wi-Fi, explaining that they had to find “reputable sources.”
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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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