explanation

ex·pla·na·tion

E0287900 (ĕk′splə-nā′shən)n.1. The act or process of explaining: launched into a detailed explanation.2. Something that explains: That was supposedly the explanation for their misdeeds.3. A mutual clarification of misunderstandings; a reconciliation.

explanation

(ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən) n1. the act or process of explaining2. a statement or occurrence that explains3. a clarification of disputed terms or points; reconciliation

ex•pla•na•tion

(ˌɛk spləˈneɪ ʃən)

n. 1. the act or process of explaining. 2. something that explains. [1350–1400; Middle English < Latin]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	explanation - a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.; "the explanation was very simple"; "I expected a brief account"accountstatement - a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc; "according to his statement he was in London on that day"explanandum, explicandum - (logic) a statement of something (a fact or thing or expression) to be explainedexplanans - (logic) statements that explain the explicandum; the explanatory premisessimplification - an explanation that omits superfluous details and reduces complexityaccounting - a convincing explanation that reveals basic causes; "he was unable to give a clear accounting for his actions"reason - an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon; "the reason a steady state was never reached was that the back pressure built up too slowly"justification - a statement in explanation of some action or beliefexposition - an account that sets forth the meaning or intent of a writing or discourse; "we would have understood the play better if there had been some initial exposition of the background"explication - a detailed explanation of the meaning of somethinggloss, rubric - an explanation or definition of an obscure word in a textderiving, etymologizing, derivation - (historical linguistics) an explanation of the historical origins of a word or phrasedefinition - a concise explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase or symbolinterpretation - an explanation that results from interpreting something; "the report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence"walk-through - a thorough explanation (usually accompanied by a demonstration) of each step in a procedure or process; "she gave me a walk-through of my new duties"
	2.	explanation - thought that makes something comprehensibleinterpreting, rendering, rendition, interpretation - an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious; "the edict was subject to many interpretations"; "he annoyed us with his interpreting of parables"; "often imitations are extended to provide a more accurate rendition of the child's intended meaning"cerebration, intellection, mentation, thinking, thought process, thought - the process of using your mind to consider something carefully; "thinking always made him frown"; "she paused for thought"rationale, principle - (law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature); "the rationale for capital punishment"; "the principles of internal-combustion engines"cornerstone, fundament, groundwork, basis, foundation, base - the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained; "the whole argument rested on a basis of conjecture"key - something crucial for explaining; "the key to development is economic integration"rationalization, rationalisation - the cognitive process of making something seem consistent with or based on reasontheory - a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena; "theories can incorporate facts and laws and tested hypotheses"; "true in fact and theory"
	3.	explanation - the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible; "I heard his explanation of the accident"speech act - the use of language to perform some actelucidation - an act of explaining that serves to clear up and cast light onexplication - the act of making clear or removing obscurity from the meaning of a word or symbol or expression etc.

explanation

noun1. reason, meaning, cause, sense, answer, account, excuse, motive, justification, vindication, mitigation, the why and wherefore The president has given no explanation for his behaviour.2. description, report, definition, demonstration, teaching, resolution, interpretation, illustration, clarification, exposition, simplification, explication, elucidation his lucid explanation of the mysteries of cricket

explanation

noun1. Something that serves to explain or clarify:clarification, construction, decipherment, elucidation, exegesis, explication, exposition, illumination, illustration, interpretation.Archaic: enucleation.2. A statement of causes or motives:account, justification, rationale, rationalization, reason.

Translations

解释说明

explain

(ikˈsplein) verb1. to make (something) clear or easy to understand. Can you explain the railway timetable to me?; Did she explain why she was late?说明2. to give, or be, a reason for. I cannot explain his failure; That explains his silence.解释explanation (ekspləˈneiʃən) noun1. the act or process of explaining. Let me give a few words of explanation.说明2. a statement or fact that explains. There are several possible explanations for the explosion.解释exˈplanatory (-ˈsplӕnə-) adjective giving an explanation. There are explanatory notes in this book.解释的explain away to get rid of (difficulties etc) by clever explaining. She could not explain away the missing money.巧辩过去

explanation

→ 解释zhCN

explanation

Any account in which an occurrence or general phenomenon is made intelligible by identification of its CAUSE, nature, interrelations, etc. In more formal terms, the occurrence or phenomenon explained is the explanandum, the explanatory account, the explanans, which, in physical science, will usually involve SCIENTIFIC LAWS, EXPLANATORY THEORIES, etc, but in the social sciences may also involve actors’ meanings, REASONS, and so on. Thus in sociology, explanation may take any one of a number of forms (which are not necessarily always mutually exclusive):

causal explanation, which may embrace various types of explanation, but in its most basic form involves the identification of an immediate precipitating cause or causes of a particular occurrence, e.g. the cause of a fire identified as the dropping of a cigarette. In their more limited forms, causal explanations usually involve numerous unstated background assumptions about physical laws, etc. (see also CAUSALITY AND CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP);
deductive explanation, in which an explanandum is deduced, i.e. follows logically from established generalizations of general laws (see HYPOTHETIC-DEDUCTIVE EXPLANATION, VERSTEHEN, INTERPRETATIVE SOCIOLOGY, COVERING-LAW MODEL AND DEDUCTIVE NOMOLOGICAL EXPLANATION, FORMAL THEORY;
probablistic explanation, in which a specifiable probability (a chance of less than 100% and more than 0%, i.e. in probability theory a chance less than 1 and greater than 0) is taken as explaining the occurrence of an event, e.g. the appearance of breast cancer in a woman whose mother and sisters have already had the disease. Strictly speaking, rather than explaining a single event, probability explanations relate to the likelihood of a particular distribution of occurrences in an infinite series of events. On their own they are usually seen as unsatisfactory as explanations, at least until further background factors explaining the probabilities are also identified, e.g. in the case of breast cancer, the discovery of genetic predispositions, etc.)
‘meaningful’ and ‘purposive’ explanations, in which actors’ meanings and/or desires, reasons, intentions, purposes, etc, explain an event or a social situation (see MEANINGFUL UNDERSTANDING AND MEANINGFUL EXPLANATION, PURPOSIVE EXPLANATION);
functional(ist) explanations, in which the ‘functional requirements’ of systems explain outcomes (see FUNCTIONAL(IST) EXPLANATION);
evolutionary or ecological explanations, which explain the persistence of natural species, types of social system, etc, in terms of their selection by and adaptation to an external environment (see EVOLUTIONARY THEORY);
teleological explanations (see also TELEOLOGY), in which purposes, goals, or system end-states, rather than antecedent causes, are seen as decisive. Such explanations may be made with reference to human or animal purposes, to the needs and goals of human societies, or to the more arcane operation of processes such as ‘world spirit’ (as for HEGEL) or human destiny. Functional explanation in many of its sociological forms also involves teleological explanation, although, in this case, recourse to such explanation is not always regarded as incompatible in principle with a reduction to antecedent causes.

explanation

ex·pla·na·tion

explanation

ex•pla•na•tion

explanation

explanation

explain

explanation

explanation

explanation

explanation

Synonyms for explanation

noun reason

Synonyms

noun description

Synonyms

Synonyms for explanation

noun something that serves to explain or clarify

Synonyms

noun a statement of causes or motives

Synonyms

Synonyms for explanation

noun a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.

Synonyms

Related Words

noun thought that makes something comprehensible

Related Words

noun the act of explaining

Related Words