explanation
a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
How often you will meet it
Rank 1,890 of 71,295 words measured. It occurs 9,478 times across 155,139 chapters — 0.005% of every word in the library.
What it means
noun
- a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc. also: account the explanation was very simpleI expected a brief account
- thought that makes something comprehensible
- the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible I heard his explanation of the accident
explanation in real books
Each sentence below was written by a published author and is taken from a different book in our library. Open one to read the passage it came from, with narration.
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Major Brown received the explanation with complete simplicity and good humour.
The Club of Queer Trades · G. K. (Gilbert Keith) Chesterton · Chapter 1
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We both jeered at him, for that explanation was too outrageously ridiculous.
The Eye of Zeitoon · Talbot Mundy · Chapter 1
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But that explanation did not satisfy him any more than it did his mother.
Other People's Money · Emile Gaboriau · Chapter 1
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And beauty is a form of genius—is higher, indeed, than genius, as it needs no explanation.
The Picture of Dorian Gray · Oscar Wilde · Chapter 2
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Noticing two young people talking together, he drew near thinking that he might get some explanation of what puzzled him.
The Yellow Fairy Book: The Grateful Beasts · World Traditions (Celtic, Norse, Asian & Persian) · Chapter 1