Explain and Fill in

Related terms

Explain verb - To make plain or understandable.

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Fill in and explain are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Fill in" instead a verb "Explain".

Fill in verb - To give information to.

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Explain and fill in are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Explain" instead a verb "Fill in".

Several flashback sequences fill in the story and explain how she came to be here.

Source: Film / The Snake Pit
With the object's identity obscured, it will appear as different things to different people as their minds try to fill in the blanks to explain what they're seeing.

Source: Appearance Is in the Eye of the Beholder
A mere letter or number doesn't explain any of that; all it does is reference some item in a list, relying on said list to fill in the missing gaps for it.

Source: Administrivia / Type Labels Are Not Examples

Cite this Source

Fill in and Explain. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 02, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/fill_in

Explain & Fill in. N.p., 2016. Web. 02 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/fill_in>.

Fill in or Explain. 2016. Accessed August 02, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/fill_in.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "explain" and "fill in" have occurred on timeline