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Another word for explanation

a-z
Noun

  1. Something that serves to explain or clarify

    See also:

    explain

  2. A statement of causes or motives

    See also:

    explain

© Roget’s II: The New Thesaurus Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Another word for explanation

Noun

  1. The act of making clear

      1. The act of expressing, conveying, or representing in words, art, music, or movement; a manifestation:
      2. Something that expresses or communicates:
      3. A symbol or combination of symbols that represents a quantity or a relationship between quantities.
      1. The act or process of producing and recording words in a form that can be read and understood:
      2. The occupation or style of someone who writes, especially for publication.
      3. Written form:
      1. the act of a person who talks; discussion; conversation
      2. that talks; talkative
      1. Having force and producing a striking effect.
      2. Revealing previously unknown information.
      1. The act, process, or technique of describing.
      2. A statement or an account describing something:
      3. A pictorial representation:
      1. The act or process of confessing, as in telling one's life story as a series of failings or tribulations.
      2. Something confessed, especially a disclosure of one's sins to a priest for absolution.
      3. In some Christian churches, the sacrament of Penance.
      1. A statement of the meaning of a word, phrase, or term, as in a dictionary entry.
      2. A statement or description of the fundamental character or scope of something:
      3. The act or process of stating a precise meaning or significance; formulation of a meaning:
      1. The act of specifying.
      2. A detailed, exact statement of particulars, especially a statement prescribing materials, dimensions, and quality of work for something to be built, installed, or manufactured.
      3. A single item or article that has been specified.
      1. The act or process of providing evidence for or showing the truth of something:
      2. An illustration or explanation, as of a theory or product, by exemplification or practical application:
      3. A piece of evidence:
      1. The act or process of producing or refining with labor; improvement by successive operations; refinement.
      2. The natural process of formation or assimilation, performed by the living organs in animals and vegetables, by which a crude substance is changed into something of a higher order; as, the elaboration of food into chyme; the elaboration of chyle, or sap, or tissues.
      3. (computing) Setting up a hierarchy of calculated constants in a language such as Ada so that the values of one or more of them determine others further down in the hierarchy.
      1. The act of opening, unfolding, or explaining; explanation; exposition; interpretation.
      2. The sense given by an expositor).
      1. A setting forth of meaning or intent.
      2. A statement or rhetorical discourse intended to give information about or an explanation of difficult material.
      3. The art or technique of composing such discourses.
      1. To present to view; cause to be seen.
      2. To exhibit ostentatiously; show off:
      3. To show (images or information) on a screen.
      1. The act of presenting or displaying.
      2. Performance, as in a competition or test of skill:
      3. A presentation of evidence, facts, or figures.
      1. The act of rendering:
      2. An interpretation or performance of a musical score or a dramatic piece.
      3. A translation from one language to another.
      1. The act of reading or reciting in a public performance.
      2. A very detailed account or report of something; a narration.
      3. A public performance of music or dance, especially by a solo performer.
      1. The act, process, or an instance of narrating.
      2. Narrated material.
      1. The act or process of interpreting.
      2. A result of interpreting.
      3. An explanation or conceptualization by a critic of a work of literature, painting, music, or other art form; an exegesis.
      1. The act of clarifying; the act or process of making clear or transparent by freeing visible impurities; particularly, the clearing or fining of liquid substances from feculent matter by the separation of the insoluble particles which prevent the liquid from being transparent.
      2. The act of freeing from obscurities.
      1. A making clear; the act of elucidating or that which elucidates, as an explanation, an exposition, an illustration; as, one example may serve for further elucidation of the subject.

  2. Something intended to make clear

      1. A thing or set of things helpful in forming a conclusion or judgment:
      2. Something indicative; an indication or set of indications:
      3. The means by which an allegation may be proven, such as oral testimony, documents, or physical objects.
      1. The act or process of failing to function or continue.
      2. The condition resulting from this:
      3. The abrupt failure of an insulator or insulating medium to restrict the flow of current.
      1. Short in time, duration, length, or extent.
      2. Succinct; concise:
      3. Curt; abrupt:
      1. A formal account of the proceedings or transactions of a group:
      2. A spoken or written account of an event, usually presented in detail:
      3. Bound volumes containing the published court opinions in legal cases, intended to provide a reference for precedents in subsequent cases.
      1. A brief statement mentioning the main points of something:
      2. Presenting the substance in a condensed form; concise:
      3. Performed speedily and without ceremony:
      1. A brief record, especially one written down to aid the memory:
      2. A comment or explanation, as on a passage in a text:
      3. A brief informal letter:
      1. Explanation or interpretation in the form of a series of comments or observations:
      2. An ongoing series of spoken remarks, especially during a television or radio broadcast of an event:
      3. An apt explanation or illustration:
      1. A method or process of dealing with a problem:
      2. The answer to a problem or the explanation for something:
      3. A homogeneous mixture of two or more substances, which may be solids, liquids, gases, or a combination of these.
      1. A notched and grooved, usually metal implement that is turned to open or close a lock.
      2. A similar implement or an electronic device used for opening, winding, or starting something:
      3. A device, such as a wedge or pin, inserted to lock together mechanical or structural parts.
      1. A surface shininess or luster.
      2. A kind of paint that dries to a shiny finish.
      3. A cosmetic that adds shine or luster, such as lip gloss.
      1. Critical explanation or analysis, especially of a text.
      1. The act of criticizing, especially adversely.
      2. A critical comment or judgment.
      3. The practice of analyzing, classifying, interpreting, or evaluating literary or other artistic works.
      1. The separation of an intellectual or material whole into its constituent parts for individual study.
      2. The study of such constituent parts and their interrelationships in making up a whole.
      3. A spoken or written presentation of such study:
      1. The fundamental reasons for something; the basis:
      1. The act of defending against attack, danger, or injury.
      2. A means or method of defending or protecting.
      3. The act or an instance of defending a championship against a challenger:
      1. An earnest request; an appeal:
      2. An excuse; a pretext:
      3. The defendant's answer to a formal criminal charge:
      1. A form of defense whereby a defendant attempts to prove that he or she was elsewhere when the crime in question was committed.
      2. The fact of having been elsewhere when a crime in question was committed.
      3. An explanation offered to avoid blame or justify action; an excuse.
      1. To make allowance for; overlook or forgive:
      2. To grant pardon to; forgive:
      3. To apologize for (oneself) for an act that could cause offense:
      1. An acknowledgment expressing regret or asking pardon for a fault or offense:
      2. A formal justification or defense.
      3. An explanation or excuse:
      1. One that is representative of a group as a whole:
      2. One serving as a pattern of a specific kind:
      3. A similar case that constitutes a model or precedent:
      1. A short account of an interesting or humorous incident.
      2. Secret or hitherto undivulged particulars of history or biography.
      1. A note placed at the bottom of a page of a book or manuscript that comments on or cites a reference for a designated part of the text.
      2. Something related to but of lesser importance than a larger work or occurrence:
      3. To furnish with or comment on in footnotes.
      1. A list of often difficult or specialized words with their definitions, often placed at the back of a book.
      1. The act or process of furnishing critical commentary or explanatory notes.
      2. A critical or explanatory note; a commentary.
      1. A chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events:
      2. A formal written account of related natural phenomena:
      3. A record of a patient's general medical background:
      1. A recital of events or happenings; a report or revelation:
      2. A malicious story, piece of gossip, or petty complaint.
      3. A deliberate lie; a falsehood.
      1. An account or report regarding the facts of an event or group of events:
      2. An anecdote:
      3. A lie:
      1. A narrated account; a story.
      2. The art, technique, or process of narrating:
      3. A presentation of real-world events that connects them in a storylike way:
      1. The act, process, or practice of rationalizing.
      2. An instance of rationalizing.
      1. The act of justifying.
      2. The condition or fact of being justified.
      3. Something, such as a fact or circumstance, that justifies:
      1. A written note intended as an explanation, illustration, or criticism of a passage in a book or other writing; an annotation.
      2. A series of annotations or explanations.
      3. A statement of fact or opinion, especially a remark that expresses a personal reaction or attitude.
      1. The act, process, or technique of describing.
      2. A statement or an account describing something:
      3. A pictorial representation:
      1. The act of illustrating or the state of being illustrated:
      2. A picture or image that is used to decorate or clarify a text.
      3. An example that is used to clarify or explain something.
      1. The act of stating or declaring:
      2. Something stated; a declaration:
      3. A formal oral or written declaration, especially with regard to facts or claims:
      1. The basis or motive for an action, decision, or conviction:
      2. A declaration made to explain or justify action, decision, or conviction:
      3. A fact or cause that explains why something exists or has occurred:
      1. A narrative or record of events.
      2. A reason given for a particular action or event:
      3. A report relating to one's conduct:
      1. A spoken or written reply, as to a question.
      2. A correct reply.
      3. A solution, as to a problem.
      1. Knowledge or facts learned, especially about a certain subject or event.
      2. The act of informing or the condition of being informed; communication of knowledge:
      3. Processed, stored, or transmitted data.
    See also:

    proof

© WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD® ROGET’S A-Z THESAURUS by Charlton Laird and the editors of Webster’s New World dictionaries. Copyright © 1999 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Sentence Examples

  • He gave no explanation and headed toward her bedroom.

  • His only explanation was that he liked being alone.

  • She waited for an explanation, but he rode on in silence.

  • He would be expecting some explanation for her request, but what?

  • This fluctuation finds a parallel in the age at which the Levites were to serve; for neither has any reasonable explanation been found on the traditional view.

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Words that mention explanation in the Dictionary

Words near explanation in the Thesaurus