| 释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024ex•plain /ɪkˈspleɪn/USA pronunciation v. - to make clear or understandable: [~ + object]Please explain your plan.[~ + (that) clause]I explained that the mistakes were my own.
- to give the cause or reason of;
account for: [~ + object]How do you explain such rude behavior?[no object]I asked her to explain. - explain away, [~ + away + object] to lessen the importance or significance of through explanation;
justify:She explained away her rude behavior as a joke.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024ex•plain (ik splān′),USA pronunciation v.t. - to make plain or clear; render understandable or intelligible:to explain an obscure point.
- to make known in detail:to explain how to do something.
- to assign a meaning to;
interpret:How can you explain such a silly remark? - to make clear the cause or reason of;
account for:I cannot explain his strange behavior.
v.i. - to give an explanation.
- explain away:
- 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.
- to dispel (doubts, difficulties, etc.) by explanation:She explained away the child's fears.
- Latin explānāre to smooth out, make intelligible, spread out on flat surface. See ex-1, plane1
- late Middle English explanen 1375–1425
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged 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.See corresponding entry in Unabridged justify.
- 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged confuse.
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