explanation

noun

OPAL WOPAL S

/ˌekspləˈneɪʃn/

Word Family

explain verb
explanation noun
explanatory adjective
explicable adjective (≠ inexplicable)

jump to other results

[countable, uncountable] a statement, fact, or situation that tells you why something happened; a reason given for something
- The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed.
- It's the only explanation that makes any sense.
- a plausible/an alternative explanation
- to offer/provide an explanation
- explanation for something I can't think of any possible explanation for his absence.
- I'm sure there's a perfectly simple explanation for this.
- explanation for doing something She didn't give an adequate explanation for being late.
- explanation of something The book opens with an explanation of why some drugs are banned.
- explanation as to why… an explanation as to why he had left early
- without explanation She left the room abruptly without explanation.
- ‘I had to see you,’ he said, by way of explanation.
Synonyms reason
reason
- explanation
- grounds
- basis
- excuse
- motive
- justification
- pretext
These are all words for a cause or an explanation for something that has happened or that somebody has done.
- reason a cause or an explanation for something that has happened or that somebody has done; a fact that makes it right or fair to do something:
  He said no but he didn’t give a reason.
- explanation a statement, fact or situation that tells you why something has happened; a reason given for something:
  The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed.
  She left the room abruptly without explanation.
- grounds (rather formal) a good or true reason for saying, doing or believing something:
  You have no grounds for complaint.
- basis (rather formal) the reason why people take a particular action:
  On what basis will this decision be made?
- excuse a reason, either true or invented, that you give to explain or defend your behaviour; a good reason that you give for doing something that you want to do for other reasons:
  Late again! What’s your excuse this time?
  It gave me an excuse to take the car.
- motive a reason that explains somebody’s behaviour:
  There seemed to be no motive for the murder.
- justification (rather formal) a good reason why something exists or is done:
  I can see no possible justification for any further tax increases.
grounds or justification?Justification is used to talk about finding or understanding reasons for actions, or trying to explain why it is a good idea to do something. It is often used with words like little, no, some, every, without, and not any. Grounds is used more for talking about reasons that already exist, or that have already been decided, for example by law: moral/economic grounds.
- pretext (rather formal) a false reason that you give for doing something, usually something bad, in order to hide the real reason:
  He left the party early on the pretext of having to work.
Patterns
- (a/an) reason/explanation/grounds/basis/excuse/motive/justification/pretext for something
- the reason/motive behind something
- on the grounds/basis/pretext of/that…
- (a) good/valid reason/explanation/grounds/excuse/motive/justification
Extra Examples
- ‘I've worked with them before, you see,’ he added, in explanation.
- A more credible explanation now occurred to her.
- An explanation is clearly called for.
- Another quite plausible explanation presented itself.
- Her success has been so remarkable as to defy explanation.
- I can think of one possible explanation for her behaviour.
- I had no explanation for her strange behaviour.
- I suppose you deserve an explanation.
- I think you owe me an explanation.
- It's the only explanation that makes any kind of sense.
- No further explanation is necessary.
- No single clear explanation emerged from the experiments.
- Several possible explanations exist.
- She wrote to the company demanding an explanation.
- The men left quickly with no attempt at explanation.
- The simplest explanation for his achievements lies in his greater ability and superiority over his contemporaries at college.
- There is no generally accepted explanation of this practice.
- There is probably some perfectly logical explanation for their absence.
- There was no apparent explanation for the attack.
- There's sure to be a perfectly innocent explanation for all this—though I admit it looks bizarre.
- We are still waiting for a full explanation from the teacher concerned.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- convincing
- credible
- good
- …
verb + explanation
- have
- give (somebody)
- offer (somebody)
- …
explanation + verb
- lie
- emerge
- occur to somebody
- …
preposition
- in explanation
- without explanation
- explanation about
- …
phrases
- an attempt at explanation
- by way of explanation
See full entry
[countable] a statement or piece of writing that tells you how something works or makes something easier to understand
- Other parts of the book contain unnecessarily lengthy explanations.
- explanation of how, what, etc…. For a full explanation of how the machine works, turn to page 5.
- explanation of something The teacher gave the children a detailed explanation of the story.
- explanation about something He entered into a technical explanation about software and programming.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- convincing
- credible
- good
- …
verb + explanation
- have
- give (somebody)
- offer (somebody)
- …
explanation + verb
- lie
- emerge
- occur to somebody
- …
preposition
- in explanation
- without explanation
- explanation about
- …
phrases
- an attempt at explanation
- by way of explanation
See full entry

Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin explanatio(n-), from the verb explanare, based on planus ‘plain’.

单词	explanation
释义	explanation noun OPAL WOPAL S /ˌekspləˈneɪʃn/ /ˌekspləˈneɪʃn/ Word Family explain verb explanation noun explanatory adjective explicable adjective (≠ inexplicable) jump to other results [countable, uncountable] a statement, fact, or situation that tells you why something happened; a reason given for something The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed. It's the only explanation that makes any sense. a plausible/an alternative explanation to offer/provide an explanation explanation for something I can't think of any possible explanation for his absence. I'm sure there's a perfectly simple explanation for this. explanation for doing something She didn't give an adequate explanation for being late. explanation of something The book opens with an explanation of why some drugs are banned. explanation as to why… an explanation as to why he had left early without explanation She left the room abruptly without explanation. ‘I had to see you,’ he said, by way of explanation. Synonyms reasonreason explanation grounds basis excuse motive justification pretext These are all words for a cause or an explanation for something that has happened or that somebody has done. reason a cause or an explanation for something that has happened or that somebody has done; a fact that makes it right or fair to do something: He said no but he didn’t give a reason. explanation a statement, fact or situation that tells you why something has happened; a reason given for something: The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed. She left the room abruptly without explanation. grounds (rather formal) a good or true reason for saying, doing or believing something: You have no grounds for complaint. basis (rather formal) the reason why people take a particular action: On what basis will this decision be made? excuse a reason, either true or invented, that you give to explain or defend your behaviour; a good reason that you give for doing something that you want to do for other reasons: Late again! What’s your excuse this time? It gave me an excuse to take the car. motive a reason that explains somebody’s behaviour: There seemed to be no motive for the murder. justification (rather formal) a good reason why something exists or is done: I can see no possible justification for any further tax increases. grounds or justification?Justification is used to talk about finding or understanding reasons for actions, or trying to explain why it is a good idea to do something. It is often used with words like little, no, some, every, without, and not any. Grounds is used more for talking about reasons that already exist, or that have already been decided, for example by law: moral/economic grounds. pretext (rather formal) a false reason that you give for doing something, usually something bad, in order to hide the real reason: He left the party early on the pretext of having to work. Patterns (a/an) reason/explanation/grounds/basis/excuse/motive/justification/pretext for something the reason/motive behind something on the grounds/basis/pretext of/that… (a) good/valid reason/explanation/grounds/excuse/motive/justification Extra Examples ‘I've worked with them before, you see,’ he added, in explanation. A more credible explanation now occurred to her. An explanation is clearly called for. Another quite plausible explanation presented itself. Her success has been so remarkable as to defy explanation. I can think of one possible explanation for her behaviour. I had no explanation for her strange behaviour. I suppose you deserve an explanation. I think you owe me an explanation. It's the only explanation that makes any kind of sense. No further explanation is necessary. No single clear explanation emerged from the experiments. Several possible explanations exist. She wrote to the company demanding an explanation. The men left quickly with no attempt at explanation. The simplest explanation for his achievements lies in his greater ability and superiority over his contemporaries at college. There is no generally accepted explanation of this practice. There is probably some perfectly logical explanation for their absence. There was no apparent explanation for the attack. There's sure to be a perfectly innocent explanation for all this—though I admit it looks bizarre. We are still waiting for a full explanation from the teacher concerned. Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective convincing credible good … verb + explanation have give (somebody) offer (somebody) … explanation + verb lie emerge occur to somebody … preposition in explanation without explanation explanation about … phrases an attempt at explanation by way of explanation See full entry [countable] a statement or piece of writing that tells you how something works or makes something easier to understand Other parts of the book contain unnecessarily lengthy explanations. explanation of how, what, etc…. For a full explanation of how the machine works, turn to page 5. explanation of something The teacher gave the children a detailed explanation of the story. explanation about something He entered into a technical explanation about software and programming. Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective convincing credible good … verb + explanation have give (somebody) offer (somebody) … explanation + verb lie emerge occur to somebody … preposition in explanation without explanation explanation about … phrases an attempt at explanation by way of explanation See full entry Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin explanatio(n-), from the verb explanare, based on planus ‘plain’.
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