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Traditional English :: explanation
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explanation.html - n. 1 the act or an instance of explaining. 2 a statement or circumstance that explains something. 3 a declaration made with a view to mutual understanding or reconciliation. [ME f. L explanatio (as EXPLAIN)] |
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Traditional English :: explanatory
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explanation.html - adj. serving or intended to serve to explain. explanatorily adv. [LL explanatorius (as EXPLAIN)] |
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Traditional English :: explant
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explanation.html - v. & n. Biol. --v.tr. transfer (living cells, tissues, or organs) from animals or plants to a nutrient medium. --n. a piece of explanted tissue etc. explantation n. [mod.L explantare (as EX-(1), plantare PLANT)] |
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English Idioms :: explain away
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explanation.html - {v.} To explain (something) so that it does not seem true or important. * /John explained away his unfinished homework by showing the teacher his broken arm in a cast./ * /It is hard to explain away Abraham Lincoln's dream about being dead, which he had a few days before he was shot./ * /The man could not explain away the gun and the marked money from the bank robbery that the police found in his car./ |
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English Idioms :: explain oneself
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explanation.html - {v. phr.} 1. To make your meaning plainer; make your first statement clear. * /When we didn't understand Fritz, he went on to explain himself./ 2. To give a good reason for something you did or failed to do which seems wrong. * /When Jack brought Mary home at three o'clock in the morning, her father asked him to explain himself./ |
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Traditional English :: explain
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explanation.html - v.tr. 1 make clear or intelligible with detailed information etc. (also absol. : let me explain). 2 (foll. by that + clause) say by way of explanation. 3 account for (one's conduct etc.). explain away minimize the significance of (a difficulty or mistake) by explanation. explain oneself 1 make one's meaning clear. 2 give an account of one's motives or conduct. explainable adj. explainer n. [L explanare (as EX-(1), planus flat, assim. to PLAIN(1))] |
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