explanation
nounWord Family
- explain verb
- explanation noun
- explanatory adjective
- explicable adjective (≠ inexplicable)
- [countable, uncountable]
a statement, fact, or situation that tells you why something happened; a reason given for something 解释；说明；阐述 The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed. 最可能的解释是他的飞机晚点了。 It's the only explanation that makes any sense. 这是唯一有意义的解释。 a plausible/an alternative explanation 可信的/替代的解释 to offer/provide an explanation 给予解释 - explanation for something
I can't think of any possible explanation for his absence. 我想不出他缺席的任何理由。 I'm sure there's a perfectly simple explanation for this. 我相信对此有一个非常简单的解释。 - explanation for doing something
She didn't give an adequate explanation for being late. 她没有给出充分的理由说明迟到的原因。 - explanation of something
The book opens with an explanation of why some drugs are banned. 本书在开篇阐述了禁用某些药物的原因。 - explanation as to why…
an explanation as to why he had left early 关于他提早离开的原因说明 - without explanation
She left the room abruptly without explanation. 她未作解释就突然离开了房间。 ‘I had to see you,’ he said, by way of explanation. “我当时必须来找你。” 他解释道。
Synonyms reasonreason- explanation
- grounds
- basis
- excuse
- motive
- justification
- pretext
- reason a cause or an explanation for something that has happened or that somebody has done; a fact that makes it right or fair to do something:
He said no but he didn’t give a reason. 他说不行，但没有说明原因。
- explanation a statement, fact or situation that tells you why something has happened; a reason given for something:
The most likely explanation is that his plane was delayed. 最可能的解释是他的飞机晚点了。 She left the room abruptly without explanation. 她未作解释就突然离开了房间。
- grounds (rather formal
) a good or true reason for saying, doing or believing something: 指说、做或相信某事的充分理由、根据： You have no grounds for complaint. 你没有理由抱怨。
- basis (rather formal
) the reason why people take a particular action: 指原因、缘由： On what basis will this decision be made? 将基于何种原因作出这一决定呢？
- excuse a reason, either true or invented, that you give to explain or defend your behaviour; a good reason that you give for doing something that you want to do for other reasons:
Late again! What’s your excuse this time? 又迟到了！你这次有什么借口？ It gave me an excuse to take the car. 这使我有理由开车去了。
- motive a reason that explains somebody’s behaviour:
There seemed to be no motive for the murder. 这起谋杀案看不出有什么动机。
- justification (rather formal
) a good reason why something exists or is done: 指事物存在或做某事的正当理由： I can see no possible justification for any further tax increases. 我看不出还能提出什么理由来加税了。
grounds or justification? 用 grounds 还是 justification？ - pretext (rather formal
) a false reason that you give for doing something, usually something bad, in order to hide the real reason: 指为掩盖做某事（通常为不好的事）的真正理由而找的借口、托辞： He left the party early on the pretext of having to work. 他借口有事要处理，早早离开了聚会。
- (a/an) reason/explanation/grounds/basis/excuse/motive/justification/pretext for something
- the reason/motive behind something
- on the grounds/basis/pretext of/that…
- (a) good/valid reason/explanation/grounds/excuse/motive/justification
Extra Examples‘I've worked with them before, you see,’ he added, in explanation. “你知道，我以前和他们一起工作过。”他又解释说。 A more credible explanation now occurred to her. 现在她想到了一个更可信的解释。 An explanation is clearly called for. 无疑需要一个解释。 Another quite plausible explanation presented itself. 另一个颇为合理的解释出现了。 Her success has been so remarkable as to defy explanation. 她的成功是如此惊人，简直无法解释。 I can think of one possible explanation for her behaviour. 我为她的行为想到了一个可能的解释。 I had no explanation for her strange behaviour. 我无法解释她奇怪的行为。 I suppose you deserve an explanation. 我认为你理应得到一个解释。 I think you owe me an explanation. 我想你欠我一个解释。 It's the only explanation that makes any kind of sense. 这是唯一有点儿道理的解释。 No further explanation is necessary. 没必要再进一步解释。 No single clear explanation emerged from the experiments. 实验未能显现出任一清楚的解释。 Several possible explanations exist. 存在多种可能的解释。 She wrote to the company demanding an explanation. 她写信给公司要求解释。 The men left quickly with no attempt at explanation. 这些人并未试图解释便很快地离开了。 The simplest explanation for his achievements lies in his greater ability and superiority over his contemporaries at college. 他之所以取得成就，最简单的解释就是他比大学中的同龄人能力更强，表现更优秀。 There is no generally accepted explanation of this practice. 对这一习惯做法没有公认的解释。 There is probably some perfectly logical explanation for their absence. 他们的缺席很可能有某种完全合理的解释。 There was no apparent explanation for the attack. 这次攻击事件没有明显的理由可作解释。 There's sure to be a perfectly innocent explanation for all this—though I admit it looks bizarre. 虽然我承认这件事看上去有些怪异，但肯定有一个再寻常不过的解释。 We are still waiting for a full explanation from the teacher concerned. 我们仍在等待相关老师给出充分的解释。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- convincing
- credible
- good
- …
- have
- give (somebody)
- offer (somebody)
- …
- lie
- emerge
- occur to somebody
- …
- in explanation
- without explanation
- explanation about
- …
- an attempt at explanation
- by way of explanation
- [countable]
a statement or piece of writing that tells you how something works or makes something easier to understand 解释性说法；说明性文字 Other parts of the book contain unnecessarily lengthy explanations. 这本书的其他部分包含不必要的冗长解释。 - explanation of how, what, etc….
For a full explanation of how the machine works, turn to page 5. 关于机器工作原理的详细说明，请翻阅第 5 页。 - explanation of something
The teacher gave the children a detailed explanation of the story. 老师给孩子们详细解释了这个故事。 - explanation about something
He entered into a technical explanation about software and programming. 他开始从技术的角度解释软件和编程。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- convincing
- credible
- good
- …
- have
- give (somebody)
- offer (somebody)
- …
- lie
- emerge
- occur to somebody
- …
- in explanation
- without explanation
- explanation about
- …
- an attempt at explanation
- by way of explanation
Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin explanatio(n-), from the verb explanare, based on planus ‘plain’.