| 单词 | explain |
| 释义 | explain —explainable, adj. —explainer, explanator /ek"spleuh nay'teuhr/, n. /ik splayn"/, v.t. 1. to make plain or clear; render understandable or intelligible: to explain an obscure point. 2. to make known in detail: to explain how to do something. 3. to assign a meaning to; interpret: How can you explain such a silly remark? 4. to make clear the cause or reason of; account for: I cannot explain his strange behavior. v.i. 5. to give an explanation. 6. explain away, a. 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. b. to dispel (doubts, difficulties, etc.) by explanation: She explained away the child's fears. [1375-1425; late ME explanen < L explanare to smooth out, make intelligible, spread out on flat surface. See EX-1, PLANE1] Syn. 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. To ELUCIDATE is to throw light on what before was dark and obscure, usually by illustration and commentary and sometimes by elaborate explanation: They asked him to elucidate his statement. To EXPOUND is to give a methodical, detailed, scholarly explanation of something, usually Scriptures, doctrines, or philosophy: to expound the doctrine of free will. To INTERPRET is to give the meaning of something by paraphrase, by translation, or by an explanation based on personal opinion: to interpret a poem or a symbol. 4. justify. Ant. 1. confuse. |
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