Definition of Explanation

1. Noun. A statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.. "I expected a brief account"


2. Noun. Thought that makes something comprehensible.

3. Noun. The act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible. "I heard his explanation of the accident"
Generic synonyms: Speech Act
Specialized synonyms: Elucidation, Explication
Derivative terms: Explain, Explain

Definition of Explanation

1. n. 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.

Definition of Explanation

1. Noun. The act or process of explaining ¹

2. Noun. Something that explains, makes understandable ¹

3. Noun. (euphemistic) An excuse, apologetic justification not based on enough evidence ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Explanation

1. [n -S]

Lexicographical Neighbors of Explanation

explainable
explained
explained away
explainer
explainers
explainin'
explaining
explaining away
explains
explains away
explaint
explananda
explanandum
explanans
explanate
explanation (current term)
explanationism
explanationist
explanationists
explanations
explanative
explanatively
explanator
explanatorily
explanatoriness
explanators
explanatory
explanatory fiction
explanatory style
explant

Literary usage of Explanation

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Dictionary of National Biography by LESLIE. STEPHEN (1886)
"217), he obtained James's assent on the day on which he resumed his seat in the council; he did not vote in the general explanation given by the council, ..."

2. The American Journal of Psychology by Granville Stanley Hall, Edward Bradford Titchener (1903)
"The purpose of this paper is to present one or two cases of retroactive amnesia and suggest a tentative explanation; but first a brief discussion of ..."

3. Experimental Morphology by Charles Benedict Davenport (1899)
"... who proposed the very clever explanation of positive curvature on the ground of ... offered a similar explanation for negative ..."

4. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London by Royal Society (Great Britain) (1868)
""An attempt to apply Chemical Principles in explanation of the Action of Poisons." By WH BROADBENT, MD Communicated by Dr. F. SIBSON, FRS Received June 18, ..."

5. Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant (1901)
"the contrary, it must, as a mere idea, be based on the const! tution of reason itself, and on this account must be capable of explanation and solution. ..."

6. Psychology, General Introduction by Charles Hubbard Judd (1917)
"Mechanical explanation of Weber's Law. After the law has been established as a statement of an empirical fact, it is by no means easy to determine its value ..."

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