spelling out
Making fully explicit
Spelling out means stating something explicitly, letter by letter or in full detail.
You spell out a word by naming each letter: Can you spell out your last name for me?
More broadly, it means making something completely clear, leaving nothing to inference: Let me spell out exactly what I expect.
The phrase often implies the listener should have understood without such explicit explanation: Do I really need to spell it out for you?
- explainingMaking something understood
- clarifyingMaking something understandable
- crystal clearEntirely unambiguous, perfectly understood
- detailingDescribing thoroughly, point-by-point
- chapter and verseExact documented source details
articulating · in no uncertain terms · enunciating · word for word · elaborating · unpacking · piece by piece · breaking down · walking through · laying out · defining · specifying · plain as day · dot the i's · alphabetizing · dictating · pronouncing · sounding out
- teachingteaching, lesson plans, instructing, educating, courses
- elaborationclarification, expansion, detail, explanation, amplification
- explainingexplaining, clarifying, elaborating, elucidating, expounding
- explanationswhy, how come, explication, what happened, definition
- representingrepresenting, depicting, portraying, symbolizing, illustrating
- Romanizationromanization, transliteration, romanized, pinyin, Pinyin
spelling outhinting
Suggesting indirectly
implying · suggesting · insinuating · intimating · beating around the bush
spelling outsummarizing
Condensing to main points
glossing over · abbreviating · condensing · truncating · boiling down
spelling outconcealing
Keeping something secret
hiding · withholding · obscuring · suppressing · covering up
spell, spells, spelled, spelt, spelling, spellings, speller, spellers, misspell