explain away
verb
explained away; explaining away; explains away
1
: to get rid of by or as if by explanation
2
: to minimize the significance of by or as if by explanation
explains his faults, but does not try to explain them away—
M. K. Spears
M. K. Spears
Examples of explain away in a Sentence
after the surprise attack, military leaders struggled to explain away the nation's unpreparedness
tried to explain away his adulterous affairs by saying that men are promiscuous by nature
Recent Examples on the Web
The company might have trouble explaining away those claims, which are partly based on a study of some 30 million daily users.
—Nick Rockel, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2024
The quarterback attempted to explain away the situation after the fact.
—Vincent Frank, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
Will explains away all of the suspicious pieces of evidence pointing in his direction.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
In their universe, Trump was waging a secret war against the deep state, and no matter what happened in the real world—like Trump losing the 2020 election, or being found guilty in court—it was always explained away as being part of the plan.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for explain away 
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Nick Rockel, Fortune, 11 Oct. 2024
The quarterback attempted to explain away the situation after the fact.
—Vincent Frank, Forbes, 7 Oct. 2024
Will explains away all of the suspicious pieces of evidence pointing in his direction.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
In their universe, Trump was waging a secret war against the deep state, and no matter what happened in the real world—like Trump losing the 2020 election, or being found guilty in court—it was always explained away as being part of the plan.
—David Gilbert, WIRED, 14 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for explain away
Dictionary Entries Near explain away
Cite this Entry
“Explain away.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/explain%20away. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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