construe vs explain

construe

verb
  • To interpret or explain the meaning of something. 

  • To translate. 

  • To admit of grammatical analysis. 

  • To analyze the grammatical structure of a clause or sentence; to parse. 

  • To infer. 

noun
  • An interpretation. 

  • A translation. 

explain

verb
  • To make plain, manifest, or intelligible; to clear of obscurity; to illustrate the meaning of. 

  • To give a valid excuse for past behavior. 

  • To make something plain or intelligible. 

How often have the words construe and explain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )