EXPLANATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does explanation mean? 

• EXPLANATION (noun)
  The noun EXPLANATION has 3 senses:

1. a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.

2. thought that makes something comprehensible

3. the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible

  Familiarity information: EXPLANATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EXPLANATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

account; explanation

Context example:

I expected a brief account

Hypernyms ("explanation" is a kind of...):

statement (a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc)

Meronyms (parts of "explanation"):

explanans ((logic) statements that explain the explicandum; the explanatory premises)

explanandum; explicandum ((logic) a statement of something (a fact or thing or expression) to be explained)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "explanation"):

exposition (an account that sets forth the meaning or intent of a writing or discourse)

walk-through (a thorough explanation (usually accompanied by a demonstration) of each step in a procedure or process)

interpretation (an explanation that results from interpreting something)

definition (a concise explanation of the meaning of a word or phrase or symbol)

derivation; deriving; etymologizing ((historical linguistics) an explanation of the historical origins of a word or phrase)

gloss; rubric (an explanation or definition of an obscure word in a text)

explication (a detailed explanation of the meaning of something)

justification (a statement in explanation of some action or belief)

reason (an explanation of the cause of some phenomenon)

accounting (a convincing explanation that reveals basic causes)

simplification (an explanation that omits superfluous details and reduces complexity)

Derivation:

explain (define)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Thought that makes something comprehensible

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("explanation" is a kind of...):

cerebration; intellection; mentation; thinking; thought; thought process (the process of using your mind to consider something carefully)

Meronyms (parts of "explanation"):

base; basis; cornerstone; foundation; fundament; groundwork (the fundamental assumptions from which something is begun or developed or calculated or explained)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "explanation"):

principle; rationale ((law) an explanation of the fundamental reasons (especially an explanation of the working of some device in terms of laws of nature))

key (something crucial for explaining)

rationalisation; rationalization (the cognitive process of making something seem consistent with or based on reason)

theory (a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world; an organized system of accepted knowledge that applies in a variety of circumstances to explain a specific set of phenomena)

interpretation; interpreting; rendering; rendition (an explanation of something that is not immediately obvious)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

I heard his explanation of the accident

Hypernyms ("explanation" is a kind of...):

speech act (the use of language to perform some act)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "explanation"):

elucidation (an act of explaining that serves to clear up and cast light on)

explication (the act of making clear or removing obscurity from the meaning of a word or symbol or expression etc.)

Derivation:

explain (serve as a reason or cause or justification of)

explain (make plain and comprehensible)

 Context examples 

A granular-flow explanation for RSL fits with the earlier understanding that the surface of modern Mars, exposed to a cold, thin atmosphere, lacks flowing water.

(Recurring Martian Streaks: Flowing Sand, Not Water?, NASA)

The current best explanation suggests the plasma balls were launched by an unseen companion star.

(Hubble Detects Giant 'Cannonballs' Shooting from Star, NASA)

His old simple character and good temper, and something of his old unlucky fortune also, I thought, smiled at me in the smile with which he made this explanation.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

A careful explanation followed, to which he listened so attentively that his anxious grandmother said, My dear, do you think it wise to talk about such things to that baby?

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The more I tried to think it out with my confused and weary brain the less could I find any plausible explanation.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This explanation is consistent with observations showing that early galaxies were much more gas-rich and compact than today’s galaxies.

(Dark Matter Less Influential in Galaxies in Early Universe, ESO)

“They was put aw’y wet, sir,” he vouchsafed explanation.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Surely there must be some rational explanation of all these mysterious things.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

The most probable explanation is that a region of upwelling material formed the pit chains.

(Dawn Explores Ceres' Interior Evolution, NASA)

A subjective answer indicating a strong preference for word explanations over number explanations.

(Always Prefer Words, NCI Thesaurus)