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.
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 results showed that limited dispersal caused by asexual reproduction could explain why early animal ecosystems contained relatively few species.
From Science Daily • Jun. 10, 2026
Tariffs and oil tankers don’t explain four decades of teenagers walking away from jobs they could have had.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
The filmmakers got current members to talk, though mostly they try to explain away everything unsavory.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
I shrugged because I didn’t know how to explain to her that I had seen the fate of the pitcher.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
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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