Explain
Explain verb - To make plain or understandable.
Tell is a synonym for explain in speech topic. In some cases you can use "Tell" instead a verb "Explain", when it comes to topics like make clear.
Tell
Tell verb - To give an oral or written account of in some detail.
Explain is a synonym for tell in communicate topic. Sometimes you can use "Explain" instead a verb "Tell".
Mutual synonyms
Common collocations
| truth | explain truth | tell truth |
| name | explain name | tell name |
| time | explain time | tell time |
| way | explain way | tell way |
| Other words: plan, characters, story, difference, joke, feelings. | ||
Both words in one sentence
- Uncle Felix: There's so much I have to tell you [about the kids' parents being spies], but very little time to explain.
Source: No Time to Explain -
Once an Episode on The Two Ronnies, Ronnie Corbett would sit in a chair and explain that he was now going to tell a simple joke.
Source: Cannot Tell a Joke -
When you tell a joke to a German, he will laugh twice: Once when you tell the joke, to be polite, and once when you explain the joke, to be polite.
Source: Late to the Punchline
Cite this Source
Tell and Explain. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 15, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/tell
Explain & Tell. N.p., 2016. Web. 15 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/tell>.
Tell or Explain. 2016. Accessed August 15, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/explain/tell.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "explain" and "tell" have occurred on timeline