Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
explanation - 4 dictionary results

ex⋅pla⋅na⋅tion

  [ek-spluh-ney-shuhn]
Use explanation in a Sentence
–noun
1. the act or process of explaining.
2. something that explains; a statement made to clarify something and make it understandable; exposition: an explanation of a poem.
3. a meaning or interpretation: to find an explanation for a mystery.
4. a mutual declaration of the meaning of words spoken, actions, motives, etc., with a view to adjusting a misunderstanding or reconciling differences: After a long and emotional explanation they were friends again.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME explanacioun < L explānātiōn- (s. of explānātiō), equiv. to explānāt(us) (see explanate ) + -iōn- -ion

Synonyms:
1. elucidation, explication, exposition, interpretation, description. 3. solution, key, answer.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To explanation
ex·pla·na·tion   (ěk'splə-nā'shən)   
n.  
  1. The act or process of explaining: launched into a detailed explanation.
  2. Something that explains: That was supposedly the explanation for their misdeeds.
  3. A mutual clarification of misunderstandings; a reconciliation.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Explanation

Ex`pla*na"tion\, n. [L. explanatio: cf. OF. esplanation.]

1. The act of explaining, expounding, or interpreting; the act of clearing from obscurity and making intelligible; as, the explanation of a passage in Scripture, or of a contract or treaty.

2. That which explains or makes clear; as, a satisfactory explanation.

3. The meaning attributed to anything by one who explains it; definition; interpretation; sense.

Different explanations [of the Trinity]. --Bp. Burnet.

4. A mutual exposition of terms, meaning, or motives, with a view to adjust a misunderstanding, and reconcile differences; reconciliation; agreement; as, to come to an explanation.

Syn: Definition; description; explication; exposition; interpretation; detail. See Definition.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : explanation
Spanish: explicación,
German: die Erklärung,
Japanese: 説明
More Translations »

explanation 
1382, from L. explanationem noun of action from explanare "to make plain or clear, explain," lit. "make level, flatten," from ex- "out" + planus "flat" (see plane (1)). Originally explane, spelling altered by infl. of plain. The verb explain is first attested 1513.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see explanation on Thesaurus | Reference