explanation
UK/ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Australia/ˌekspləˈnæɪʃən/
explanation noun: the act or process of explaining.
Noun
explanation (countable and uncountable, plural explanations)
- The act or process of explaining.
- The explanation was long and drawn-out.
- Synonyms:
- clarification, elucidation, elaboration, explaining, explication, femsplaining, mansplaining, mansplanation
- Something that explains or makes understandable.
- An explanation for the UFO sightings was easily found.
- The socialist will, of course, see in this merely a proof that the more intelligent person is today bound to become a socialist. But this is far from being the necessary or even the most likely explanation.1949, F. A. Hayek, “The Intellectuals and Socialism”, in University of Chicago Law Review, volume 16, number 3, Chicago: University of Chicago, →DOI, page 427
- A resolution of disputed points pursuant to discussion; a mutual clarification of disputed points; reconciliation.
- This little explanation with Mr. Knightley gave Emma considerable pleasure.1815, Jane Austen, Emma, volume III, chapter 3
explanation meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
explanation in Hindi
- the act or process of explaining
- स्पष्टीकरण spaṣṭīkraṇ, समझाना samjhānā, व्याख्या vyākhyā
- something that explains
- व्याख्या vyākhyā, विवरण vivraṇ
explanation in Tamil
- விளக்கம், வியாக்கியானம்
explanation in Marathi
- the act or process of explaining
- स्पष्टीकरण spaṣṭīkraṇ
explanation in Urdu
- the act or process of explaining
- وَضاحَت vazāhat, تَوضِیح tauzīh
More languagesFewer languages
- explanation in Bengali
- ব্যাখ্যা bêkkha
- explanation in Telugu
- వివరణ vivaraṇa
- explanation in Malayalam
- ആശയവിപുലീകരണം āśayavipulīkaraṇaṁ, വിവരണം vivaraṇaṁ, ഭാഷ്യം bhāṣyaṁ, വിശകലനം viśakalanaṁ
- explanation in Kannada
- ವಕ್ಕಣೆ vakkaṇe
- explanation in Punjabi
- ਬਖਾਣ bakhāṇ
- explanation in Gujarati
- વ્યાખ્યા vyākhyā
- explanation in Odia
- ବ୍ଯ଼ାଖ୍ଯ଼ା
- explanation in Sanskrit
- निरुक्त nirukta, व्याख्या vyākhyā, व्याकरण vyākaraṇa, विवरण vivaraṇa
- explanation in Assamese
- ব্যাখ্যা byakhya
- explanation in Nepali
- स्पष्टीकरण
- explanation in Tagalog
- paliwanag
- explanation in Arabic
- تَفْسِير tafsīr, شَرْح šarḥ, تَوْضِيح tawḍīḥ, تَعْلِيل taʕlīl
- explanation in Indonesian
- penjelasan
- explanation in Thai
- การอธิบาย gaan-à-tí-baai
Examples of explanation in a sentence
- He gave a convoluted explanation that amounted to little more than a weak excuse for his absence.
- The public won't understand this concept. We need to dumb down our explanation of it.
- When we confronted her, she gave us a hasty, incoherent explanation.
Synonyms of explanation
Forms of explanation
| plural | explanations |
|---|---|
| alternative form | explaination |
Origin of explanation
From Latin explanatio (“an explanation, interpretation”), from explanare (“explain”); see explain. Morphologically explain + -ation. Displaced native Old English racu.
Words formed from explanation
Words that rhyme with explanation
- station
- collation
- accommodation
- presentation
- derivation
- information
- modulation
- translation
- application
- fixation
- generation
- orientation
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- citation
- combination
- communication
- conjugation
- constellation
- determination
- elevation
- operation
- relation
- reservation
- alternation
- condensation
- conversation
- deviation
- excavation
- foliation
- formation
- foundation
- incarnation
- interpretation
- representation
- retardation
- speculation
- termination
- abbreviation
- adaptation
- articulation
- bifurcation
- concentration
- congregation
- declination
- degradation
- expectation
- extenuation
- gradation
- observation
- population
- preparation
- reconciliation
- rotation
- separation
- situation
- vexation
- vindication
- accumulation
- administration
- aggregation
- appropriation
Questions about explanation
- What does explanation mean?
- Explanation means the act or process of explaining.
- What is explanation in Hindi?
- Explanation in Hindi is स्पष्टीकरण (spaṣṭīkraṇ), समझाना (samjhānā), व्याख्या (vyākhyā). See Explanation meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is explanation?
- Explanation is a noun.
- How do you pronounce explanation?
- Explanation is pronounced /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/ (UK).
- What is the plural of explanation?
- The plural of explanation is explanations.
Words near explanation in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: explanation (page history and authors); explanation (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ആശയവിപുലീകരണം (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ವಕ್ಕಣೆ (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਬਖਾਣ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); વ્યાખ્યા (Gujarati) (page history and authors); explanation (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); निरुक्त (Sanskrit) (page history and authors); explanation (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-explanation.ogg.
Cite this entry: “explanation.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/explanation. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.