From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishexplain something ↔ away phrasal verbREASONto make something seem less important or bad by giving reasons for it The difference in the treatment they receive is hard to explain away. → explain→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
explain away• But the responses at the moment range from making excuses to explaining the problems away.• I had explained myself, as I always did, but I could scarcely explain myself away.• Not only do they not do this but when presented with such evidence they explain it away.• Some try to explain the miracles away and say that they did not happen.• To explain something is not to explain it away and to understand something is not to underestimate its value.• As much as he tried to explain it away, he just got in deeper.• But because of the evidence neither can we explain it away: there is the beginning of the rationality of faith.• I hung it as a joke, but I stopped trying to explain it away to guests when they commented. 