apologetic

1 of 2

adjective

apol·​o·​get·​ic ə-ˌpä-lə-ˈje-tik How to pronounce apologetic (audio)
1
: feeling or showing regret : regretfully acknowledging fault or failure : expressing an apology
They were apologetic about the error.
We received an apologetic letter.
an apologetic smile/tone
2
: offered in defense or vindication
the apologetic writings of the early Christians
apologetically adverb

apologetic

2 of 2

noun

Examples of apologetic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
But then last year, when Harry Styles was awarded Album of the Year for Harry’s House over Beyoncé’s Renaissance, he was criticized for not being apologetic about the achievement in light of the Recording Academy’s failure to properly celebrate Beyoncé’s artistry. Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2024 As an apologetic gesture, the guilty culprit, Tu Wei, a fellow classmate from an affluent family, invites Shuo to play video games and to stay over for dinner. Carlos Aguilar, Variety, 22 Jan. 2024 When Armenta’s parents, taking a page out of the Sandmann playbook, threatened to sue, Deadspin updated the article further and appended an apologetic statement to it. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 Broome was immediately apologetic and later went over to Freeman to apologize again, in between helping Auburn to a 91-77 victory on the road against Ole Miss on Saturday. Issy Ronald, CNN, 4 Feb. 2024 The 27-page document is carefully worded—even apologetic—and is intended to demonstrate resilience, progress, and responsibility to further strengthen the company’s human rights compliance program. Vas Panagiotopoulos, WIRED, 24 Jan. 2024 The fact that music, like a lot of things of beauty, can be so torn apart, and stolen from us, by dark forces… Robert was very apologetic. Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Dec. 2023 On that matter, Musk seemed alternatingly apologetic and defiant — acknowledging his mistakes, then doing everything in his power to push advertisers away. Mia Sato, The Verge, 30 Nov. 2023 Later in life, Munger at times became almost apologetic for his financial success. Tom Petruno, Los Angeles Times, 28 Nov. 2023
Noun
Soon after, what would normally be a postgame handshake between head coaches became a testy scene in which Falcons coach Arthur Smith could be seen angrily asking an apologetic Allen for an explanation. Brett Martel, USA TODAY, 7 Jan. 2024 Farian was a mixture of apologetic and defensive when the Milli Vanilli scandal unraveled in 1990, saying that Americans were overly focused on issues of authenticity in pop music, unlike the rest of the world. A.d. Amorosi, Variety, 23 Jan. 2024 An apologetic Ferrell also reflects on his behavior, and admits to his ignorance of the governor and his policies. Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019 The servers are super kind and apologetic and also mention that the apple trees have recently been trimmed to avoid this sort of fun surprise. Bon Appétit Contributor, Bon Appétit, 20 Oct. 2023 Heather Dubrow on 'Very Difficult' Season of 'RHOC': 'Friendship Runs Deep — and So Do Feuds' (Exclusive) Later in the episode, John and Shannon arrived at CUT and were greeted by an apologetic Tamra, who offered a hug and another apology. Esther Kang, Peoplemag, 22 June 2023 Fans of Premier League teams are angered by events, even after Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur released exit statements, which ranged from the apologetic to the matter-of-fact. Henry Flynn, Forbes, 21 Apr. 2021 As an evangelist, Zacharias focused on apologetics, which is the practice of offering answers to the most difficult moral, philosophical, and ethical challenges to his faith. Anthony Leonardi, Washington Examiner, 19 May 2020 Among movies dealing with deeply felt Christian apologetics, Malick’s latest is a companion to A Man for All Seasons, and church groups ought to see it. Kyle Smith, National Review, 23 Dec. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'apologetic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

borrowed from Late Latin apologēticus "defensive, justifying," borrowed from Greek apologētikós "suitable for defence, offered in defense," from apologē-, variant stem of apologéomai, apologeîsthai "to speak in defense, defend oneself, be an advocate for" (Late Greek, "be an advocate for the Christian faith") (from apo- apo- + -logeomai, -logeisthai, verbal derivative of lógos "word, speech, argument") + -t-, verbal adjective formative + -ikos -ic entry 1 — more at legend

Noun

Middle English apologetik, borrowed from Medieval Latin apologēticus or apologēticum, noun derivatives from masculine and neuter of Late Latin apologēticus "defensive, justifying" — more at apologetic entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

1649, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of apologetic was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near apologetic

Cite this Entry

“Apologetic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apologetic. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

apologetic

adjective
apol·​o·​get·​ic
ə-ˌpäl-ə-ˈjet-ik
1
: offered by way of apology
an apologetic smile
2
: sorry for some fault or failure
apologetically
-ˈjet-i-k(ə-)lē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on apologetic

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