Definitions for explanation
ˌɛk spləˈneɪ ʃənex·pla·na·tion

Princeton's WordNet(3.24 / 13 votes)Rate this definition:

1. explanation, accountnoun

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

   "the explanation was very simple"; "I expected a brief account"

2. explanationnoun

   thought that makes something comprehensible

3. explanationnoun

   the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible

   "I heard his explanation of the accident"

Wiktionary(3.20 / 5 votes)Rate this definition:

1. explanationnoun

   The act or process of explaining

   The explanation was long and drawn-out.

2. explanationnoun

   Something that explains, makes understandable

   An explanation for each UFO sighting was easily found.

3. explanationnoun

   An excuse, apologetic justification not based on enough evidence

   Hoover supporters' "explanations" and former status rarely save him from modern ridicule as a useless expense.

4. Etymology: From explanatio, from explanare; see explain.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Explanationnoun

   Etymology: from explain.

   1. The act of explaining or interpreting.2. The sense given by an explainer or interpreter.

   Before this explanation be condemned, and the bill found upon it, some lawyers should fully inform the jury. Jonathan Swift.

Webster Dictionary(4.75 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Explanationnoun

   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. Explanationnoun

   that which explains or makes clear; as, a satisfactory explanation

3. Explanationnoun

   the meaning attributed to anything by one who explains it; definition; interpretation; sense

4. Explanationnoun

   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

Freebase(3.25 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Explanation

   An explanation is a set of statements constructed to describe a set of facts which clarifies the causes, context, and consequences of those facts. This description may establish rules or laws, and may clarify the existing ones in relation to any objects, or phenomena examined. The components of an explanation can be implicit, and be interwoven with one another. An explanation is often underpinned by an understanding that is represented by different media such as music, text, and graphics. Thus, an explanation is subjected to interpretation, and discussion. In scientific research, explanation is one of the purposes of research, e.g., exploration and description. Explanation is a way to uncover new knowledge, and to report relationships among different aspects of studied phenomena. Explanations have varied explanatory power.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. explanation

   The act and process of to explain.

   The explanation was crystal clear and we all understood.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on April 6, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Speech Act
   • Statement
   • Thinking

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'explanation' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2137

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'explanation' in Written Corpus Frequency: #3976

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'explanation' in Nouns Frequency: #734

How to pronounce explanation?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say explanation in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of explanation in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of explanation in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of explanation in a Sentence

1. Professor Karsten Koenig:

   We've seen the epidermis get thinner by nearly 20 percent. And so far we have no explanation. But this happened within six months; the question is if you go to Mars they need one or two years and we don't know yet - for sure it's not so good if the epidermis gets thinner and thinner.

2. Raffi Boyadijian:

   The strongest explanation (for the yen's decline) is a widespread selling by Japanese asset managers amid growing fears about the health of Japan's economy.

3. Monroe County:

   There’s absolutely no explanation for us, the word ‘evil’ comes to mind….This is a mother who took her son’s life.

4. Doug Madory:

   For the past 24 hours North Korea's connectivity to the outside world has been progressively getting degraded to the point now that they are totally offline, there's either a benign explanation - their routers are perhaps having a software glitch; that’s possible. It also seems possible that somebody can be directing some sort of an attack against them and they're having trouble staying online.

5. Steve Huffman:

   Could it just be that African Americans or the colored population do not wash their hands as well as other groups? Or wear a mask? Or do not socially distance themselves? Could that be the explanation for why the higher incidence?

Popularity rank by frequency of use