Meaning & use

apologist

noun·Academic

A person who defends or argues in support of a controversial cause, person, or institution.

See it in a sentence

Critics accused the columnist of being an apologist for the corrupt regime.

Early Christian apologists wrote lengthy defenses of their faith against Roman accusations.

A note on using this word

Apologist does not mean someone who apologizes; it comes from 'apology' in its older sense of a formal defense or justification.

Words with a similar meaning

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Words with an opposite meaning

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