Definition of 'explain away'
phrasal verb
See full dictionary entry for explainIf someone explains away a mistake or a bad situation they are responsible for, they try to indicate that it is unimportant or that it is not really their fault.
He evaded her questions about the war and tried to explain away the atrocities. [VERB PARTICLE noun]
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
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Word Frequency
explain away in American English
to state reasons for so as to justify, often by minimizing, or make understandable
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word Frequency
explain away in American English
a.
He couldn't explain away his absence from home at the time the robbery was committed
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
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