explain away
Present Participle
explaining away
Past Tense
explained away
Past Participle
explained away
1
to provide reasons or justifications in an attempt to dismiss or minimize the significance of something
- When confronted about the discrepancies in the report, the manager attempted to explain them away as minor errors.
- The politician tried to explain away the scandal, but the public demanded more accountability.
- The manager explained away the poor sales figures by blaming the bad weather and economic downturn.
- The company's statement aimed to explain away the environmental concerns raised by activists, but the community remained skeptical.
2
to give reasons or excuses to make something that has happened seem less important or to avoid responsibility for it
- Despite the evidence, he tried to explain away his absence from the meeting with a last-minute excuse.
- He tried to explain away his mistake by saying he was tired and distracted.
- She couldn't explain away her absence from the meeting, despite giving several excuses.
- Instead of admitting fault, she always had a tendency to explain away her mistakes with elaborate explanations.