explain
"explain away,"
1. to diminish or nullify the significance of by explanation:
He couldn't explain away his absence from home at the time the robbery was committed.
2. to dispel (doubts, difficulties, etc.) by explanation:
She explained away the child's fears.
"explain oneself,"
to clarify one's statements or the reasons for one's conduct.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English explanen < Latin explānāre to smooth out, make intelligible, spread out on flat surface. See ex-1, plane1. Dictionary 2: C15: from Latin explānāre to flatten, from plānus level. —Dictionary.com * // First Known Use: 15th century. History and Etymology: Middle English explanen, from Latin explanare, literally, to make level, from ex- + planus level, flat — more at floor. —Merriam-Webster *
1. to diminish or nullify the significance of by explanation:
He couldn't explain away his absence from home at the time the robbery was committed.
2. to dispel (doubts, difficulties, etc.) by explanation:
She explained away the child's fears.
"explain oneself,"
to clarify one's statements or the reasons for one's conduct.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English explanen < Latin explānāre to smooth out, make intelligible, spread out on flat surface. See ex-1, plane1. Dictionary 2: C15: from Latin explānāre to flatten, from plānus level. —Dictionary.com * // First Known Use: 15th century. History and Etymology: Middle English explanen, from Latin explanare, literally, to make level, from ex- + planus level, flat — more at floor. —Merriam-Webster *