apology
Americannoun
-
apologies
plural
-
a written or spoken expression of one's regret, remorse, or sorrow for having insulted, failed, injured, or wronged another.
He demanded an apology from me for calling him a crook.
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a defense, excuse, or justification in speech or writing, as for a cause or doctrine.
- Synonyms:
- vindication
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(initial capital letter, italics) a dialogue by Plato, centering on Socrates' defense before the tribunal that condemned him to death.
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an inferior specimen or substitute; makeshift.
The tramp wore a sad apology for a hat.
noun
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an oral or written expression of regret or contrition for a fault or failing
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a poor substitute or offering
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another word for apologia
Synonym Usage
See excuse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of apology
First recorded in 1500–50; earlier apologie, late Middle English (from Middle French ), from Late Latin apologia, from Greek apología, “speech in self-defense; defense,” see apologia
Explanation
An apology is what you say or do when you want to let someone know (or fool them into thinking) that you regret something. An apology is nice, but chocolates or large bundles of cash are nicer. Always. The noun apology has its roots in the Greek apologos, meaning a story. It entered the English language in the Middle Ages. If you broke your friend’s sword and then made up an elaborate story to get out of trouble, that was an apology. After a few decades, the general sense of the word shifted to its current meaning — what you say when you want to express real remorse.
Vocabulary lists containing apology
Two-Faced Words: Contronyms
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She called on Raman to retract her remarks and issue an apology, saying Gates “inflicted serious harm to the African American community.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
Hewitt acknowledged there had been "some contrition" in Infantino's apology.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Others, including those who say they had experiences similar to Clarkson’s at that establishment, thought its statement was insufficient and criticized it for not including an apology.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
President Lee Jae Myung has demanded an official apology over the prisoner revelation.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
“I don’t believe the apology was sincere, Principal Wombat,” he said.
From "Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody" by Patrick Ness
The 35-year-old is now at Chelsea but - with apologies to Danny - there is another former Blue whose stats demand a place on this list.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
"I deeply regret it and offer my heartfelt apologies without reservation."
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
With all apologies to David Lynch, in “That Thing You Do!” the film isn’t the thing.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
Some restaurant owners make no apologies for their embrace of AI.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Good folks of the council, my apologies for the disruption. As you can see, it’s for a fantastic reason. After ten long years, my granddaughter, Nichole, has finally returned home.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
