explain away

explain away
transitive verb
1. : to get rid of by or as if by explanation

was trying to speak some words that … would explain away all the mistakes and misunderstandings of life — Ellen Glasgow

2. : to minimize the significance of by or as if by explanation

evidence which it was hard to explain away — A.G.N.Flew

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explain away
To modify the force of by explanation, generally in a bad sense
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Main Entry: ↑explain

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ex ˌplain a ˈway [transitive] [present tense I/you/we/they explain away he/she/it explains away present participle explaining away past tense explained away past participle explained away] phrasal verb
to tell someone about something in a way that makes them think it is unimportant, so that they do not ask questions about it

She made up stories to explain away the missing money.

Thesaurus: to give a reason or excuse for somethingsynonym
Main entry: explain

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explain away [phrasal verb]
explain away (something) or explain (something) away
1 : to make (something) seem less important by telling how it happened, what caused it, etc.

It will be hard for his lawyers to explain away this new evidence.

She tried to explain her symptoms away by insisting she was just overtired.

2 : to give a reason for (a fault, a mistake, etc.) so that you will not be blamed for it

They've tried to explain away the delays, citing computer problems.

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Main Entry: ↑explain

Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • explain away something — explain away (something) to invent reasons why something is unimportant. You will find it hard to explain away all these mistakes. Rather than face the truth, we try to explain it away …   New idioms dictionary

  • explain away — transitive verb Date: 1704 1. to get rid of by or as if by explanation 2. to minimize the significance of by or as if by explanation < explains his faults, but does not try to explain them away M. K. Spears > …   New Collegiate Dictionary

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