explain away
B2Mostly formal or critical; common in analytical, journalistic, and evaluative contexts.
Definition
Meaning
To dismiss or minimize something problematic by providing a plausible but often superficial or inadequate explanation.
To account for something negative, suspicious, or contradictory in a way that attempts to remove blame, doubt, or concern, often suggesting the explanation is not fully convincing.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Carries a connotation of doubt or skepticism; implies the act of explaining is done to avoid negative consequences or to defend against criticism, not necessarily to illuminate truth.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant grammatical or usage differences.
Connotations
Equally skeptical in both varieties.
Frequency
Slightly more frequent in British journalism and political commentary, but common in both.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
[Subject] explain away [Direct Object (problem/evidence)][Subject] explain [Direct Object] away [as + reason]Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “No specific idioms, but related to 'sweep under the rug' and 'paper over the cracks'.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used when discussing PR attempts to minimise a corporate scandal or poor financial results.
Academic
Used in critical analysis to describe how a theory or historical account dismisses contradictory data.
Everyday
Used when someone gives a weak excuse for being late or forgetting something important.
Technical
Rare in pure sciences; more common in social sciences, law, and journalism.
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The minister tried to explain away the budget discrepancies as accounting errors.
- She couldn't explain away the missing files.
American English
- The CEO explained away the layoffs as necessary restructuring.
- He attempted to explain the poor results away as a seasonal fluctuation.
adverb
British English
- N/A
American English
- N/A
adjective
British English
- An explained-away discrepancy (rare usage).
- N/A
American English
- An explained-away controversy (rare usage).
- N/A
Examples
By CEFR Level
- He tried to explain away the scratch on the car.
- It's hard to explain away all these mistakes.
- The report seeks to explain away the decline in sales as a temporary market adjustment.
- No amount of charm could explain away his absence from the crucial meeting.
- The author's apologists strive to explain away the racist undertones in his early work as products of their time.
- The government's statistical sleight of hand was a transparent attempt to explain away rising poverty levels.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of someone waving a problem 'away' with words of explanation, making it seem to disappear.
Conceptual Metaphor
EXPLANATION AS A CLEANSING AGENT (washing away blame), ARGUMENT AS WAR (deflecting criticism).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Не переводить буквально как 'объяснять прочь'. Ближе по смыслу: 'отмазаться', 'отговориться', 'найти оправдание', 'объяснить (но с негативным оттенком сомнения)'.
Common Mistakes
- Using it as a simple synonym for 'explain' (e.g., 'Can you explain away how this machine works?').
- Incorrect word order: 'explain the problem away' is correct; 'explain away the problem' is also correct, but 'explain away it' is incorrect.
Practice
Quiz
Which situation best illustrates the phrase 'explain away'?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, it almost always carries a skeptical or dismissive connotation, implying the explanation is insufficient or deliberately misleading.
It is highly unusual. Using it positively would likely be interpreted as irony or criticism.
'Explain' is neutral—to make clear. 'Explain away' is to explain with the specific aim of dismissing a problem or removing blame.
Yes. With pronoun objects, the order must be 'explain [pronoun] away' (e.g., explain it away). With noun objects, both orders are common (explain away the problem / explain the problem away).
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