Explaination or explanation?
Did you mean explanation? Here's the right spelling and how to remember it.
Incorrect
explaination
Correct
explanation
Correct spelling: explanation. Misspelling: explaination.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
Memory tip
Explain loses its I: expla-NATION.
Why people write “explaination”
The misspelling “explaination” is only one letter off: it adds an extra vowel, I.
Spell-checkers catch the mistake in a document, but not in a handwritten note, a text message or a word game. Writing the word out a few times while saying the tricky part aloud is the quickest way to make explanation automatic.
Other misspellings of “explanation”
People also write “explenation”. Here is where each one goes wrong.
“explenation”
Correct spelling: explanation. Misspelling: explenation.
letters the misspelling gets wrong or leaves out letters that shouldn't be there
The misspelling “explenation” is only one letter off: it writes E where explanation has A, an easy slip because in an unstressed syllable both vowels can sound like the same soft "uh".
What does “explanation” mean?
explanation noun
- a statement that makes something comprehensible by describing the relevant structure or operation or circumstances etc.
“the explanation was very simple”
Synonyms:account
- thought that makes something comprehensible
- the act of explaining; making something plain or intelligible
“I heard his explanation of the accident”
Definitions from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Full dictionary entry
“Explanation” in a sentence
- Thanks for the clear explanation.
- The explanation was very simple.
- I heard his explanation of the accident.
Is “explanation” a playable word?
20 points in Scrabble · 24 in Words With Friends
- Scrabble (US)
- Scrabble (UK)
- Words With Friends
“explaination” is not accepted in any of these games. See every word you can make from EXPLANATION.