explain
//ɪkˈspleɪn//
Forms
- present (v1)
- explain
- past (v2)
- explained
- past participle (v3)
- explained
- present participle
- explaining
- 3rd person singular
- explains
Definitions
1.To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of.
- The issue was explained to the governor in detail.
- The boy became volubly friendly and bubbling over with unexpected humour and high spirits. He tried to persuade Cicely to stay away from the ball-room for a fourth dance. Nobody would miss them, he explained.
2.To give the reason for, justification for, or cause of.
- Would you be kind enough to explain it to me?
- It would take forever for me to explain everything.
3.To make something plain or intelligible.
- She tried to explain but he wouldn’t listen.
- Like their Western counterparts, local media engages in shorthand - it reports rather than explains.
- It is easy to modify the account to take this into account, by explaining not just in terms of a set of reasons but in terms of a set of reason–weight pairs.
Frequency
Overall
Very common· #500
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Common
- General reading & writing
- Very common
- Academic
- Common
- Literature
- Uncommon
Etymology
From Middle English explanen, from Old French explaner, from Latin explanō (“to flatten, spread out, make plain or clear, explain”), from ex- (“out”) + planō (“to flatten, make level”), from planus (“level, plain”); see plain and plane.
Compare esplanade, splanade.