Reexplain

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To clarify or restate information in a different way after an initial explanation has been given to ensure better understanding
2. To provide an additional or alternative explanation of previously presented material in order to make it clearer or more comprehensible
3. To explain something again, often with new details or simpler language, to help someone grasp the meaning more fully

Etymology: "Reexplain" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-" ("again") attached to "explain." The prefix traces back through Latin "re-" to a Proto-Italic root, and it reached English through Old French and Middle English, where it had long been a common way to signal repetition or return. "Explain" itself came into English from Latin "explanare," meaning to make level or flat, a sense that survives in the idea of smoothing something out until it can be understood. Put together, "reexplain" means to make something plain a second time, and the word follows the same pattern as "rewrite" or "retell." Its meaning is almost entirely carried by its two parts, so there is little to unpack beyond them.

Synonyms: clarify again, restate, reiterate, repeat explanation