Explain
Explain verb - To make plain or understandable.
Usage example: a pamphlet that explains the medical procedure in language that any layperson can understand
Interpret is a synonym for explain in gloss topic. In some cases you can use "Interpret" instead a verb "Explain", when it comes to topics like resolve, clear up, make clear, paraphrase. popular alternative
Interpret
Interpret verb - To make plain or understandable.
Usage example: a biblical passage that scholars haven't been able to interpret to everyone's satisfaction
Explain is a synonym for interpret in understand topic. You can use "Explain" instead a verb "Interpret", if it concerns topics such as take, resolve, clear up, define. popular alternative
Mutual synonyms
Related pairs
Common collocations
Both words in one sentence
- Elena prefers to interpret the belly full of puppies as a metaphor for the knight's guilt when he realized he murdered his wife without letting her explain.
Source: Revealing Injury - Needless to say the Wardens interpret this as an attack, and the Withered decides to improvise, planning to kill everybody except the Wardens so that they could be taken as prisoners to the Architect, who could then explain that he means no harm.
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Acres episode tackles The Boy Who Cried Wolf, with Orson telling the tale to illustrate why being known as a liar is bad and explain why he's ignoring Roy, only to have an epiphany and re-interpret the Aesop as "Even liars sometimes tell the truth".
Source: Alternate Aesop Interpretation
Cite this Source
Interpret and Explain. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 13, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/interpret
Explain & Interpret. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/interpret>.
Interpret or Explain. 2016. Accessed August 13, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/interpret.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "explain" and "interpret" have occurred on timeline