apologize

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apologize

/əˈpɒləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ UK
/əˈpɔləˌd͡ʒɑjz/ British, Southern, Standard
/əˈpɑləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ US
/əˈpɔləˌd͡ʒɑez/ Australia
/əˈpɔləˌd͡ʒaɪz/ Scotland

Rhymes with -ɒlədʒaɪz

Where it comes from

From apology + -ize, from ἀπολογία (apología, “a speech in defense”), from ἀπολογέομαι (apologéomai, “to speak in one’s defense”), from ἀπόλογος (apólogos, “an account, story”), compound of ἀπο- (apo-, “from, off”) and λόγος (lógos, “speech”); compare also ἀπολογίζομαι (apologízomai, “to render an account”).

verb apologizes · apologizing · apologized · apologise

British, English, Oxford, US, intransitive, often To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends My correspondent apologized for not answering my letter.
British, English, Oxford, US, intransitive To express regret that a certain event has occurred.
British, English, Oxford, US, dated, intransitive To make an apologia or defense; to act as apologist. To this purpose the most witty, cautious and subtile ſort of the Pagans apologize for themselves

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: excuse, justify, rationalize, apologise, apology, sorry, pardon, forgive, condone, atone, redeem, regret, apologies, apologised, apologises, excuses

Translations

Every language

verb to make an apology or defense

Português	apologizar, fazer apologia a
Français	faire l'apologie de

verb to make an apology or excuse

Español	disculparse [with con], pedir(le) perdón [with a], pedir disculpas [with a]
한국어	사과하다 sagwahada, 사죄하다 sajoehada
日本語	謝る ayamaru, 詫びる wabiru, 謝罪する shazai suru
中文	道歉 dàoqiàn
हिन्दी	क्षमा मांगना kṣamā māṅgnā, माफ़ी माँगना māfī māṅgnā
Português	desculpar-se
Français	s'excuser
Deutsch	sich entschuldigen
Italiano	scusarsi
Ελληνικά	ζητάω συγγνώμη zitáo syngnómi
Română	cere scuze, a-și cere scuze
Русский	извиня́ться izvinjátʹsja, извини́ться izvinítʹsja
Tiếng Việt	xin lỗi
العربية	اِعْتَذَرَ iʕtaḏara, اِسْتَعْذَرَ istaʕḏara, اِسْتَصْفَحَ istaṣfaḥa
עברית	הִתְנַצֵּל hitnatsél

verb to express regret

Português	pedir desculpas/perdão, desculpar-se
Français	s'excuser, présenter des excuses
Italiano	chiedere perdono, chiedere scusa, scusarsi

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Cite this

MLA

"apologize." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/apologize. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

apologize. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/apologize

Chicago

"apologize." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/apologize.

BibTeX

@misc{apologize_2026,
  title = {apologize},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/apologize},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}