Explain

Explain is a verb meaning to make an idea or situation clear by describing facts, ideas, or reasons; to justify or account for something; to interpret or clarify. Explanations aim to reduce uncertainty by connecting evidence to a claim. The term comes from Latin explicare "unfold, set forth," through Old French expliquer, and into English in the 15th century.

Explanations can take many forms depending on context: causal explanations, which relate events to one or more causes; mechanistic explanations, detailing components and processes; functional explanations, describing purpose or role; normative explanations, assessing reasons or justification for decisions. In practice, an explanation often includes a claim or conclusion, supporting evidence, and a line of reasoning that links them; it may use examples, definitions, models, diagrams, or analogies. Clarity, coherence, completeness, accuracy, and relevance determine quality.

Differences from description: description states what is; explanation states why or how. In education, explanations are tailored to the audience's prior knowledge and may be scaffolded, with steps and checks for understanding. Explanations may be provisional, subject to revision with new evidence. In other domains, such as journalism, law, and science, explanations must be transparent about assumptions and limitations; in the field of artificial intelligence, explainability refers to making model decisions interpretable.

A simple example: explaining why the sun appears to move across the sky involves referencing Earth's rotation and the atmosphere's interactions.