addle vs explain

addle

noun
  • A foolish or dull-witted fellow. 

verb
  • To cause fertilised eggs to lose viability, by killing the developing embryo within through shaking, piercing, freezing or oiling, without breaking the shell. 

  • To make addle; to grow addle; to muddle 

  • To earn, earn by labor; earn money or one's living. 

  • To thrive or grow; to ripen. 

adj
  • Unfruitful or confused; muddled. 

  • Having lost the power of development, and become rotten; putrid. 

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 addle and explain occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )