explain
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: simple
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. Displaced Old English reċċan.
Inflected forms:
form: explains
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: explaining
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: explained
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: explained
pos: verb
tags: past
form: explane
pos: verb
tags: alternative
obsolete
Senses:
gloss: To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
Drawings and pictures are more than mere ornaments in scientific discourse. Blackboard sketches, geological maps, diagrams of molecular structure, astronomical photographs, MRI images, the many varieties of statistical charts and graphs: These pictorial devices are indispensable tools for presenting evidence, for explaining a theory, for telling a story.
He concisely explains that Whig histories tend to "praise revolutions [for history of science, we could read novelties, ideas or individuals] provided they have been successful, emphasise certain principles of progress in the past and produce a story which is the ratification if not the glorification of the present".
gloss: To give the reason for, justification for, or cause of.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].
gloss: To make flat, smooth out.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
gloss: To unfold or make visible.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
examples: April 14, 1684, John Evelyn, a letter sent to the Royal Society concerning the damage done to his gardens by the preceding winter
The horse-chestnut is […] ready to explain its leaf.
gloss: To make something plain or intelligible.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: She tried to explain but he wouldn’t listen.
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.
Like their Western counterparts, local media engages in shorthand - it reports rather than explains.
Synonyms: absolve
clarify
describe
direct
disclose
explain
illustrate
inform
instruct
justify
specify
teach
unravel
untangle
upsolve
Antonyms: obscure
Related words: explanation
explanatorily
explanatory
Derived words: afore-explained
dexify
explainability
explainable
explain away
explainee
explainer
explainify
explainingly
explanification
mansplain
misexplain
overexplain
please explain
re-explain
retain and explain
-splain
underexplain
unexplained
weedsplain
Westplainer
Westsplain
Westsplaining
Translations:
lang: Albanian
word: shpjegoj
lang: Southern Altai
word: учур айдар
roman: učur aydar
lang: Southern Altai
word: чечип айдар
roman: čečip aydar
lang: Arabic
word: شَرَحَ
roman: šaraḥa
lang: Arabic
word: فَسَّرَ
roman: fassara
lang: Arabic
word: أَبَانَ
roman: ʔabāna
lang: Arabic
word: فهم
roman: fahhim
lang: Arabic
word: فهّم
roman: fahham
lang: Arabic
word: شرح
roman: šaraḥ
lang: Armenian
word: բացատրել
roman: bacʻatrel
lang: Aromanian
word: exiyisescu
lang: Asturian
word: esplicar
lang: Azerbaijani
word: başa salmaq
lang: Azerbaijani
word: izah etmək
lang: Azerbaijani
word: açıqlamaq
lang: Basque
word: azaldu
lang: Belarusian
word: аб'ясьня́ць
roman: abʺjasʹnjácʹ
lang: Belarusian
word: аб'ясьні́ць
roman: abʺjasʹnícʹ
lang: Belarusian
word: тлума́чыць
roman: tlumáčycʹ
lang: Belarusian
word: растлума́чыць
roman: rastlumáčycʹ
lang: Bengali
word: বোঝান
roman: bōjhan
lang: Bengali
word: ভাষ্য করা
roman: bhaśśo kora
lang: Bulgarian
word: обясня́вам
roman: objasnjávam
lang: Burmese
word: ရှင်းပြ
roman: hrang:pra.
lang: Burmese
word: ဖွင့်
roman: hpwang.
lang: Burmese
word: လင်း
roman: lang:
lang: Burmese
word: ဖြေရှင်း
roman: hprehrang:
lang: Catalan
word: explicar
lang: Chinese Cantonese
word: 解釋 /解释
roman: gaai² sik¹
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 解釋 /解释
roman: jiěshì
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 說明 /说明
roman: shuōmíng
lang: Chinese Mandarin
word: 闡釋 /阐释
roman: chǎnshì
lang: Chuukese
word: awewe
lang: Czech
word: vysvětlovat
lang: Czech
word: vysvětlit
lang: Danish
word: forklare
lang: Dutch
word: uitleggen
lang: Dutch
word: verklaren
lang: Dutch
word: toelichten
lang: Esperanto
word: klarigi
lang: Estonian
word: seletama
lang: Estonian
word: selgitama
lang: Finnish
word: selittää
lang: Finnish
word: selostaa
lang: French
word: expliquer
lang: West-Frisian
word: útlizze
lang: Galician
word: explicar
lang: Georgian
word: ახსნა
roman: axsna
lang: Georgian
word: განმარტება
roman: ganmarṭeba
lang: German
word: erklären
lang: German
word: erläutern
lang: Gothic
word: 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽
roman: gaskeirjan
lang: Greek
word: εξηγώ
roman: exigó
lang: Ancient Greek
word: ἐξηγέομαι
roman: exēgéomai
lang: Ancient Greek
word: ἑρμηνεύω
roman: hermēneúō
lang: Haitian Creole
word: eksplike
lang: Hebrew
word: הִסְבִּיר
roman: hisbír
lang: Hindi
word: समझाना
roman: samjhānā
lang: Hungarian
word: magyaráz
lang: Hungarian
word: megmagyaráz
lang: Hungarian
word: elmagyaráz
lang: Hungarian
word: kifejt
lang: Icelandic
word: útskýra
lang: Ido
word: explikar
lang: Indonesian
word: menjelaskan
lang: Ingrian
word: toimittaa
lang: Interlingua
word: explicar
lang: Irish
word: mínigh
lang: Italian
word: spiegare
lang: Italian
word: chiosare
lang: Italian
word: illustrare
lang: Japanese
word: 説明する
roman: setsumei suru
lang: Japanese
word: 教える
roman: oshieru
lang: Kazakh
word: түсіндіру
roman: tüsındıru
lang: Khmer
word: បន្លែ
roman: bɑnlae
lang: Khmer
word: បំភ្លឺ
roman: bɑmphlɨɨ
lang: Khmer
word: ពន្យល់
roman: pɔɔpŭənyŭəl
lang: Khmer
word: សាធក
roman: saathĕəʼkaʼ
lang: Korean
word: 설명하다
roman: seolmyeonghada
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: şirove kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: îzah kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: fesîh kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: zelal kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: ron kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: şayesandin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: şayes kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: şayes dan
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: sêwer kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: bas kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: qal kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: vegotin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: derbirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: wesf dan
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: saloxandin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: salox kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: teswîr kirin
lang: Northern Kurdish
word: tesewir kirin
lang: Kyrgyz
word: түшүндүрүү
roman: tüşündürüü
lang: Lao
word: ອະທິບາຍ
roman: ʼa thi bāi
lang: Latin
word: explānō
lang: Latin
word: explicō
lang: Latvian
word: skaidrot
lang: Lithuanian
word: aiškinti
lang: Lithuanian
word: paaiškinti
lang: Macedonian
word: објаснува
roman: objasnuva
lang: Macedonian
word: објасни
roman: objasni
lang: Malay
word: menjelaskan
lang: Māori
word: whakamārama
lang: Māori
word: whakamahuki
lang: Mauritian Creole
word: explike
lang: Mirandese
word: splicar
lang: Mongolian
word: тайлбарлах
roman: tajlbarlax
lang: Norman
word: explyitchi
lang: Norwegian Bokmål
word: forklare
lang: Occitan
word: explicar
lang: Old English
word: reċċan
lang: Pashto
word: تشريح کول
roman: tašrihkawᶕl
lang: Persian
word: توضیح دادن
roman: towzih dâdan
lang: Persian
word: شرح دادن
roman: šarh dâdan
lang: Polish
word: wyjaśniać
lang: Polish
word: wyjaśnić
lang: Polish
word: objaśniać
lang: Polish
word: objaśnić
lang: Portuguese
word: explicar
lang: Portuguese
word: explanar
lang: Portuguese
word: explicitar
lang: Quechua
word: alayrichiy
lang: Romanian
word: explica
lang: Russian
word: объясня́ть
roman: obʺjasnjátʹ
lang: Russian
word: объясни́ть
roman: obʺjasnítʹ
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: обја̀снити
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: objàsniti
lang: Shan
word: သပ်းလႅင်း
roman: sáp léng
lang: Slovak
word: vysvetliť
lang: Slovene
word: pojasniti
lang: Spanish
word: explicar
lang: Spanish
word: explanar
lang: Swedish
word: förklara
lang: Tajik
word: эзоҳ додан
roman: ezoh dodan
lang: Tajik
word: шарҳ додан
roman: šarh dodan
lang: Tamil
word: விளக்கு
roman: viḷakku
lang: Tatar
word: аңлатырга
roman: añlatırğa
lang: Telugu
word: వివరించు
roman: vivariñcu
lang: Thai
word: อธิบาย
roman: à-tí-baai
lang: Thai
word: ชี้แจง
roman: chíi-jɛɛng
lang: Thai
word: แจง
roman: jɛɛng
lang: Thai
word: นิยาม
roman: ní-yaam
lang: Tocharian B
word: ṣärp-
lang: Turkish
word: açıklamak
lang: Turkish
word: izah etmek
lang: Turkmen
word: düşündirmek
lang: Ukrainian
word: поя́снювати
roman: pojásnjuvaty
lang: Ukrainian
word: поясня́ти
roman: pojasnjáty
lang: Ukrainian
word: поясни́ти
roman: pojasnýty
lang: Unami
word: wëntamasi
lang: Urdu
word: سمجھانا
roman: samjhānā
lang: Uyghur
word: چۈشەندۈرمەك
roman: chüshendürmek
lang: Uzbek
word: tushuntirmoq
lang: Uzbek
word: izohlamoq
lang: Venetan
word: spiegar
lang: Vietnamese
word: giải thích
lang: Walloon
word: espliker
lang: Walloon
word: spliker
lang: Welsh
word: egluro
lang: Yiddish
word: דערקלערן
roman: derklern
lang: Yiddish
word: מסביר זײַן
roman: masber zayn