Open English Wordnet
Verbs
(v)explain, explicatemake plain and comprehensible“He explained the laws of physics to his students” (v)explaindefine“The committee explained their plan for fund-raising to the Dean” (v)excuse, explainserve as a reason or cause or justification of“Your need to sleep late does not excuse your late arrival at work”,
“Her recent divorce may explain her reluctance to date again”