It would take forever for me to explain everything.
Source: tatoeba (1347)
Explain
/ɪkˈspleɪn/
Synonyms for "explain" (509 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (10)
Strong matches (15)
Noun(4 words)
Verb(5 words)
Adjective(1 words)
anatomical joint related
Related words (25)
Noun(12 words)
annotated textanswer questionsas demonstrated bybackgroundbiologize findingsbiologize science topicsbiologize the topicbudgeting conceptcaption for watercarrying capacity modelcastcharacterizing
Adjective(2 words)
articulentcalm talk
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: clarify, explicate, illustrate, justify, absolve.
- Sentence evidence is available for explain, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wiktionary, opengloss, wordnet, moby, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "explain".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "explain"
Keep "explain" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "explain" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "explain", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "explain" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
11 entriesMore specific
6 entriesCollocations
5 entriesclear explanationdetailed explanationsimple explanationstep by step explanationstudent explanation
Inflections
3 entriesDerivations
4 entriesTranslations
164 translations across 90 languages.
Albanian
1 entries- shpjegoj verb (to make intelligible)
Ancient Greek
2 entries- ἐξηγέομαι verb (to make intelligible)
- ἑρμηνεύω verb (to make intelligible)
Arabic
4 entries- أَبَانَ verb (to make intelligible)
- شرح verb (to make intelligible)
- شَرَحَ verb (to make intelligible)
- فهم verb (to make intelligible)
Armenian
1 entries- բացատրել verb (to make intelligible)
Aromanian
1 entries- exiyisescu verb (to make intelligible)
Asturian
1 entries- esplicar verb (to make intelligible)
Azerbaijani
3 entries- açıqlamaq verb (to make intelligible)
- başa salmaq verb (to make intelligible)
- izah etmək verb (to make intelligible)
Basque
1 entries- azaldu verb (to make intelligible)
Belarusian
4 entries- аб'ясьня́ць verb (to make intelligible)
- аб'ясьні́ць verb (to make intelligible)
- растлума́чыць verb (to make intelligible)
- тлума́чыць verb (to make intelligible)
Bengali
2 entries- বোঝান verb (to make intelligible)
- ভাষ্য করা verb (to make intelligible)
Bulgarian
1 entries- обясня́вам verb (to make intelligible)
Burmese
4 entries- ဖြေရှင်း verb (to make intelligible)
- ဖွင့် verb (to make intelligible)
- ရှင်းပြ verb (to make intelligible)
- လင်း verb (to make intelligible)
Catalan
1 entries- explicar verb (to make intelligible)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 解釋 /解释 verb (to make intelligible)
Chinese Mandarin
3 entries- 解釋 /解释 verb (to make intelligible)
- 說明 /说明 verb (to make intelligible)
- 闡釋 /阐释 verb (to make intelligible)
Chuukese
1 entries- awewe verb (to make intelligible)
Czech
2 entries- vysvětlit verb (to make intelligible)
- vysvětlovat verb (to make intelligible)
Danish
1 entries- forklare verb (to make intelligible)
Dutch
3 entries- toelichten verb (to make intelligible)
- uitleggen verb (to make intelligible)
- verklaren verb (to make intelligible)
Esperanto
1 entries- klarigi verb (to make intelligible)
Estonian
2 entries- seletama verb (to make intelligible)
- selgitama verb (to make intelligible)
Finnish
2 entries- selittää verb (to make intelligible)
- selostaa verb (to make intelligible)
French
1 entries- expliquer verb (to make intelligible)
Galician
1 entries- explicar verb (to make intelligible)
Georgian
2 entries- ახსნა verb (to make intelligible)
- განმარტება verb (to make intelligible)
German
2 entries- erklären verb (to make intelligible)
- erläutern verb (to make intelligible)
Gothic
1 entries- 𐌲𐌰𐍃𐌺𐌴𐌹𐍂𐌾𐌰𐌽 verb (to make intelligible)
Greek
1 entries- εξηγώ verb (to make intelligible)
Hebrew
1 entries- הִסְבִּיר verb (to make intelligible)
Hindi
1 entries- समझाना verb (to make intelligible)
Hungarian
4 entries- elmagyaráz verb (to make intelligible)
- kifejt verb (to make intelligible)
- magyaráz verb (to make intelligible)
- megmagyaráz verb (to make intelligible)
Icelandic
1 entries- útskýra verb (to make intelligible)
Ido
1 entries- explikar verb (to make intelligible)
Indonesian
1 entries- menjelaskan verb (to make intelligible)
Ingrian
1 entries- toimittaa verb (to make intelligible)
Interlingua
1 entries- explicar verb (to make intelligible)
Irish
1 entries- mínigh verb (to make intelligible)
Italian
3 entries- chiosare verb (to make intelligible)
- illustrare verb (to make intelligible)
- spiegare verb (to make intelligible)
Japanese
2 entries- 教える verb (to make intelligible)
- 説明する verb (to make intelligible)
Kazakh
1 entries- түсіндіру verb (to make intelligible)
Khmer
4 entries- បន្លែ verb (to make intelligible)
- បំភ្លឺ verb (to make intelligible)
- ពន្យល់ verb (to make intelligible)
- សាធក verb (to make intelligible)
Korean
1 entries- 설명하다 verb (to make intelligible)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- түшүндүрүү verb (to make intelligible)
Lao
1 entries- ອະທິບາຍ verb (to make intelligible)
Latin
2 entries- explicō verb (to make intelligible)
- explānō verb (to make intelligible)
Latvian
1 entries- skaidrot verb (to make intelligible)
Lithuanian
2 entries- aiškinti verb (to make intelligible)
- paaiškinti verb (to make intelligible)
Macedonian
2 entries- објасни verb (to make intelligible)
- објаснува verb (to make intelligible)
Malay
1 entries- menjelaskan verb (to make intelligible)
Mirandese
1 entries- splicar verb (to make intelligible)
Mongolian
1 entries- тайлбарлах verb (to make intelligible)
Māori
2 entries- whakamahuki verb (to make intelligible)
- whakamārama verb (to make intelligible)
Norman
1 entries- explyitchi verb (to make intelligible)
Northern Kurdish
4 entries- bas kirin verb (to make intelligible)
- derbirin verb (to make intelligible)
- fesîh kirin verb (to make intelligible)
- qal kirin verb (to make intelligible)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- forklare verb (to make intelligible)
Occitan
1 entries- explicar verb (to make intelligible)
Old English
1 entries- reċċan verb (to make intelligible)
Pashto
1 entries- تشريح کول verb (to make intelligible)
Persian
2 entries- توضیح دادن verb (to make intelligible)
- شرح دادن verb (to make intelligible)
Polish
4 entries- objaśniać verb (to make intelligible)
- objaśnić verb (to make intelligible)
- wyjaśniać verb (to make intelligible)
- wyjaśnić verb (to make intelligible)
Portuguese
3 entries- explanar verb (to make intelligible)
- explicar verb (to make intelligible)
- explicitar verb (to make intelligible)
Quechua
1 entries- alayrichiy verb (to make intelligible)
Romanian
1 entries- explica verb (to make intelligible)
Russian
2 entries- объясни́ть verb (to make intelligible)
- объясня́ть verb (to make intelligible)
Serbo-Croatian
2 entries- objàsniti verb (to make intelligible)
- обја̀снити verb (to make intelligible)
Shan
1 entries- သပ်းလႅင်း verb (to make intelligible)
Slovak
1 entries- vysvetliť verb (to make intelligible)
Slovene
1 entries- pojasniti verb (to make intelligible)
Southern Altai
2 entries- учур айдар verb (to make intelligible)
- чечип айдар verb (to make intelligible)
Spanish
2 entries- explanar verb (to make intelligible)
- explicar verb (to make intelligible)
Swedish
1 entries- förklara verb (to make intelligible)
Tajik
2 entries- шарҳ додан verb (to make intelligible)
- эзоҳ додан verb (to make intelligible)
Tamil
1 entries- விளக்கு verb (to make intelligible)
Tatar
1 entries- аңлатырга verb (to make intelligible)
Telugu
1 entries- వివరించు verb (to make intelligible)
Thai
4 entries- ชี้แจง verb (to make intelligible)
- นิยาม verb (to make intelligible)
- อธิบาย verb (to make intelligible)
- แจง verb (to make intelligible)
Tocharian B
1 entries- ṣärp- verb (to make intelligible)
Turkish
2 entries- açıklamak verb (to make intelligible)
- izah etmek verb (to make intelligible)
Turkmen
1 entries- düşündirmek verb (to make intelligible)
Ukrainian
3 entries- поя́снювати verb (to make intelligible)
- поясни́ти verb (to make intelligible)
- поясня́ти verb (to make intelligible)
Unami
1 entries- wëntamasi verb (to make intelligible)
Urdu
1 entries- سمجھانا verb (to make intelligible)
Uyghur
1 entries- چۈشەندۈرمەك verb (to make intelligible)
Uzbek
2 entries- izohlamoq verb (to make intelligible)
- tushuntirmoq verb (to make intelligible)
Venetan
1 entries- spiegar verb (to make intelligible)
Vietnamese
1 entries- giải thích verb (to make intelligible)
Walloon
2 entries- espliker verb (to make intelligible)
- spliker verb (to make intelligible)
Welsh
1 entries- egluro verb (to make intelligible)
West-Frisian
1 entries- útlizze verb (to make intelligible)
Yiddish
2 entries- דערקלערן verb (to make intelligible)
- מסביר זײַן verb (to make intelligible)
Sample sentences
19 total sentences available.
I can't explain it either.
Source: tatoeba (1452)
It would take me too much time to explain to you why it's not going to work.
Source: tatoeba (1496)
I'm so dumb... I'm trying to explain things to you that I don't understand myself.
Source: tatoeba (1497)
Showing 4 of 19 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "explain"?
Closest matches include clarify, explicate, illustrate, justify, absolve.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "explain"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.