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Synonyms
apology - 5 dictionary results
a⋅pol⋅o⋅gy
[uh-pol-uh-jee] 
–noun, plural -gies.
| 1. | 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. |
| 2. | a defense, excuse, or justification in speech or writing, as for a cause or doctrine. |
| 3. | (initial capital letter, italics ) a dialogue by Plato, centering on Socrates' defense before the tribunal that condemned him to death. |
| 4. | an inferior specimen or substitute; makeshift: The tramp wore a sad apology for a hat. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To apology
| a·pol·o·gy (ə-pŏl'ə-jē) n. pl. a·pol·o·gies
[Latin apologia, from Greek apologiā : apo-, apo- + logos, speech; see leg- in Indo-European roots.] Synonyms: These nouns denote a statement that excuses or defends something, such as a past action or a policy: arguments that constituted an apology for capital punishment; published an apologia expounding her version of the events; a defense based on ignorance of the circumstances; an untenable justification for police brutality. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Apology
A*pol"o*gy\, n.; pl. Apologies. [L. apologia, Gr. ?; ? from + ?: cf. F. apologie. See Apologetic.]1. Something said or written in defense or justification of what appears to others wrong, or of what may be liable to disapprobation; justification; as, Tertullian's Apology for Christianity. It is not my intention to make an apology for my poem; some will think it needs no excuse, and others will receive none. --Dryden. 2. An acknowledgment intended as an atonement for some improper or injurious remark or act; an admission to another of a wrong or discourtesy done him, accompanied by an expression of regret. 3. Anything provided as a substitute; a makeshift. He goes to work devising apologies for window curtains. --Dickens. Syn: Excuse. Usage: An apology, in the original sense of the word, was a pleading off from some charge or imputation, by explaining and defending one's principles or conduct. It therefore amounted to a vindication. One who offers an apology, admits himself to have been, at least apparently, in the wrong, but brings forward some palliating circumstance, or tenders a frank acknowledgment, by way of reparation. We make an apology for some breach of propriety or decorum (like rude expressions, unbecoming conduct, etc.), or some deficiency in what might be reasonably expected. We offer an excuse when we have been guilty of some breach or neglect of duty; and we do it by way of extenuating our fault, and with a view to be forgiven. When an excuse has been accepted, an apology may still, in some cases, be necessary or appropriate. "An excuse is not grounded on the claim of innocence, but is rather an appeal for favor resting on some collateral circumstance. An apology mostly respects the conduct of individuals toward each other as equals; it is a voluntary act produced by feelings of decorum, or a desire for the good opinion of others." --Crabb.Apology
A*pol"o*gy\, v. i. To offer an apology. [Obs.] For which he can not well apology. --J. Webster.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : apology
Spanish:
disculpa,
German:
die Entschuldigung,
Japanese:
謝罪
apology
1533, "defense, justification," from L.L. apologia, from Gk. apologia "a speech in defense," from apologeisthai "to speak in one's defense," from apologos "an account, story," from apo- "from, off" (see apo-) + logos "speech." The original Eng. sense of "self-justification" yielded a meaning "frank expression of regret for wrong done," first recorded 1594, but it was not the main sense until 18c. The old sense tends to emerge in Latin form apologia (first attested 1784), especially since J.H. Newman's "Apologia pro Vita Sua" (1864). The Gk. equivalent of apologize (1725 in the modern sense of "acknowledge and express regret"), apologizesthai, meant simply "to give an account."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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