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- DictionaryEx·plain/ikˈsplān/
verb
- 1. make (an idea, situation, or problem) clear to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts or ideas: "they explained that their lives centered on the religious rituals"
explain, expound, explicate, elucidate, interpret mean to make something clear or understandable. explain implies a making plain or intelligible what is not immediately obvious or entirely known. explain the rules. expound implies a careful often elaborate explanation. expounding a scientific theory.
to make something clear or easy to understand by describing or giving information about it: [ I ] If there’s anything you don’t understand, I’ll be happy to explain. [ T ] The teacher explained the procedure to the students. [ + question word ] Bill explained how the program works.
verb [ I or T ] uk / ɪkˈspleɪn / us / ɪkˈspleɪn / A2. to make something clear or easy to understand by describing or giving information about it: If there's anything you don't understand, I'll be happy to explain. explain something to someone The teacher explained the rules to the children.
Explain definition: to make plain or clear; render understandable or intelligible. See examples of EXPLAIN used in a sentence.
explain. [transitive, intransitive] to tell somebody about something in a way that makes it easy to understand. explain (something) He was trying to explain the difference between hip hop and rap. First, I'll explain the rules of the game. The theory is not explained in detail.
To explain something is to define it, show how it works, or just tell what it is. Explaining helps people understand. If you know football really well, then you could probably explain it to a non-fan. Explaining makes things clearer. A lot of teaching is explaining — telling how something works.
Definition of explain verb in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
SYNONYMS 1. explicate. explain, elucidate, expound, interpret imply making the meaning of something clear or understandable. To explain is to make plain, clear, or intelligible something that is not known or understood: to explain a theory or a problem.
verb. explained, explaining, explains. To make clear, plain, or understandable. Webster's New World. Similar definitions. To give an explanation. Webster's New World. Similar definitions. To give the meaning or interpretation of; expound.
1. to make clear or intelligible. 2. to make known in detail. 3. to make clear the cause or reason of; account for: I cannot explain his strange behavior. v.i. 4. to give an explanation. 5. explain away, to diminish the significance of through explanation; justify.