01 v. t. To flatten; to spread out; to unfold; to expand.
imp. & p. p.
Explained; p. pr. & vb. n.
Explaining
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1.
To flatten; to spread out; to unfold; to expand.[Obs.]“The horse-chestnut is . . . ready to explain its leaf.” — Evelyn.
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2.
To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to expound; to unfold and illustrate the meaning of; as, to explain a chapter of the Bible.“Commentators to explain the difficult passages to you.” — Gay.
Phrases & compounds
To explain away —
to get rid of by explanation.