explain

Definition

To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of.

Etymology

From Middle English explanen, from Old French explaner, from Latin explanō (“I flatten, spread out, make plain or clear, explain”), from ex- (“out”) + planō (“I flatten, make level”), from planus (“level, plain”); see plain and plane. Compare esplanade, splanade. Displaced Old English reċċan.

Example Sentences

• "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."

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