Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
explain (verb)transitive verb
1.
a) to make known - explain the secret of your success
b) to make plain or understandable - footnotes that explain the terms
2.
to give the reason for or cause of - unable to explain his strange conduct
3.
intransitive verb
to show the logical development or relationships of - explained the new theory to make something plain or understandable - a report that suggests rather than explains
Merriam-Webster Online Thesaurus
explain (verb)1.
to make plain or understandable
SYNONIMS:
clarify, clear (up), construe, demonstrate, demystify, elucidate, explicate, expound, get across, illuminate, illustrate, interpret, simplify, spell out, unriddleRELATED WORDS:
decipher, decode; analyze, break down; disentangle, undo, unravel, unscramble, untangle; resolve, solve; define, specify; annotate, commentate, glossNEAR ANTONYMS:
befog, cloud; confound, confuse, obfuscate2.
to give the reason for or cause of
SYNONIMS:
account (for), attribute, explain away, rationalizeRELATED WORDS:
condone, excuse, forgive, justify; absolve, acquit, exculpate, exonerate, vindicate