WordWeb Online

1. Make plain and comprehensible
   "He explained the laws of physics to his students"
   - explicate
    
2. Define
   "The committee explained their plan for fund-raising to the Dean"
    
3. Serve as a reason or cause or justification of
   "Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again"
   - excuse

Derived forms: explained, explaining, explains

See also: explanation, explanatory

Type of: inform, justify, say, state, tell, vindicate

Encyclopedia: Explain