Hello Faroá...your "nose" and input are welcome into the conversation:) I hope you understand that neither mariaklec nor I were questioning the existence of the words. Mariaklec (and I, too, now that I know) acknowledge that they exist, but why employ a limited use word like explicate that others might not know and you are unlikely to ever see again when you can use a more common word? The point is that they are not commonly used words and it would be better for a student of English such as maramaras to use more easily recognizable words in the early stages of her learning process.
On the topic: Her question was whether "account for" was a synonym of "to explicate" and from my understanding of the definition of explicate I'd say that "to account for" as a phrasal verb meaning "to make clear or to explain" is, indeed, loosely synonymous.
P.S. I'm not sure how you are making the association but I do not think implicate is the opposite, or an antonym, of explicate.
Antonyms of explicate:cloud,
complicate,
confuse,
mystify,
obscure,
tangle
Synonyms:amplify,
clear up,
construe,
demonstrate,
develop,
dilate,
elucidate, enlarge upon,
enucleate,
expatiate,
explain,
expound, give the big picture,
illustrate,
interpret, make clear, make explicit, make plain,
run down, spell out*, tell why,
unfold,
untangle,
work out
and possibly "account for":D
I must admit that this has taught me a new word...explicate...even if I never get to use it at least I will recognize it in the future.
Saludos!
