Meaning & use
apology
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Meanings
nouncountable
Words or an action showing that you feel sorry for something you did that hurt or annoyed someone.
Grammar: Often with for, to or a verb like make: an apology for being late.
Patterns
- an apology for something
- an apology to someone
- make an apology
He wrote an apology to his neighbor for the noise.
She owes her friend an apology for forgetting the party.
The airline issued a public apology for the delays.
nounusually pluralBritishformal
A message explaining that you cannot attend a meeting or event.
Grammar: Used in the plural in British meetings: apologies for absence.
Patterns
- send your apologies
- apologies for absence
The chairman read out apologies from three members.
I sent my apologies since I could not come to the meeting.
Apologies were received from the treasurer.
nounsingulardisapproving
A poor or weak example of something, used with a.
Grammar: Used in the pattern an apology for something: an apology for a meal.
Patterns
- an apology for something
The shed was a sad apology for a shelter.
He gave an apology for a speech and sat down.
What they served was a poor apology for dinner.
Word forms
| plural | apologies |
|---|
Common combinations
- offer an apology
- The company offered an apology to its customers.
- public apology
- The mayor made a public apology for the mistake.
- accept an apology
- She accepted his apology and moved on.
- owe someone an apology
- I owe you an apology for yesterday.
- profuse apology
- He made a profuse apology for spilling the coffee.
- written apology
- The school asked for a written apology.
Synonyms and how they differ
- regret
- Regret is the feeling of sadness, whereas an apology is the act of saying you are sorry.
- excuse
- Excuse explains or defends what happened, but an apology admits fault.
- acknowledgment
- Acknowledgment admits something happened and need not say you are sorry.
- mea culpa
- Mea culpa is a Latin phrase for admitting fault, used in a formal or humorous way.
Opposites
Word family
- apologize verb
- to say you are sorry
- apologetic adjective
- showing that you are sorry
- apologetically adverb
- in a way that shows regret
- unapologetic adjective
- not sorry and not hiding it
Commonly confused: apology or apologia? apology or excuse?
apology vs apologia
An apologia is a formal written defense of one's beliefs or actions, not a statement of regret.
apology vs excuse
An excuse gives a reason for what happened, while an apology says you are sorry about it.
Practice
The restaurant offered a sincere ___ and a free dessert for the mistake.
Choose one answer.
After the adjective sincere a noun is needed, and apology means a statement of regret. An apologia is a written defense, an apologist defends a belief, and apologetic is an adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “apology”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.