explains away
Offers convenient excuse
To explain away is to dismiss or minimize something troubling by offering reasons that make it seem less significant.
The phrase implies the explanation serves to deflect rather than truly illuminate: He tried to explain away the discrepancy in the accounts.
What gets explained away—inconsistencies, failures, suspicious behavior—typically deserves more serious attention than the explanation grants it.
- dismissingRemoving from position
- wave offDismiss with gesture
- justifyProvide adequate grounds for
- make excusesGive self-serving explanations
- rationalizeExplain with invented reasons
minimizing · downplay · play down · excuse · apologetics · spin · talk around · deflection · reframe · whitewash · denial · debunk · write off · ignore · defend · brushing off · hand wave · equivocation
explains awayacknowledges
Confirms awareness of something
accepts · faces · confronts · admits · recognizes
explains awayanswers for
Accepts blame regarding
confesses · faces up to · acknowledges · owns · shoulders
explains awaysubstantiates
Confirms with evidence
corroborates · confirms · verifies · proves · establishes
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