WordWeb Online

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

Derived forms: explained, explains, explaining

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

Encyclopedia: Explain