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| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make clear; give a reason for |
| Synonyms: | 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, untangle |
| Notes: | 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' |
| Antonyms: | be vague, complicate, confuse, mystify, obscure, perplex |
| Main Entry: | spell out |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | clarify, explain |
| Synonyms: | break down, brief, clear up, clue in, decipher, decode, define, describe, diagram, draw a map, expound, fill someone in, get across, go into detail, illustrate, interpret, justify, make plain, point out, put across, put in plain English, teach, tell, throw light upon, translate, unfold, unravel, untangle |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
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Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
