Apologize

Pronunciation

• US IPA: /əˈpÉ’ləˌdÍ¡Ê’aɪz/

Alternative forms

• apologise Commonwealth

Origin

apology + -ize, from Ancient Greek απολογία (apología, "a speech in defense"), from απολογέομαι (apologéomai, "to speak in one’s defense"), from απόλογος (apólogos, "an account, story"), compound of απο- (apo-, "from, off") and λόγος (lógos, "speech").

Full definition of apologize

Verb

1. (intransitive) To make an apology or defense; to act as apologist.
2. (intransitive, often followed by “for”) To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amendsMy correspondent apologized for not answering my letter.
• Froudeto apologize for his insolent language
3. (intransitive) To express regret that a certain event has occurred.

Derived terms

Related terms