apologist

noun

apol·​o·​gist ə-ˈpä-lə-jist 

plural apologists

: someone who speaks or writes in defense of someone or something that is typically controversial, unpopular, or subject to criticism

… an apologist for moneyed interests.

—S. L. Price

Apologists argued that funneling contracts to his children did not matter too much since the projects—new roads, factories, airports—did get built.

—Johanna McGeary

Apologists for the status quo will always claim that if change were really needed, the market would have already made it happen.

—Michael Grunwald

Examples of apologist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Jennings, ever the apologist, said (perhaps jokingly) that maybe Vance didn't want to upstage Trump. —Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 19 July 2024

Marine Le Pen purged Vichy remnants and Nazi apologists from the party, including booting out her father in 2015. —Annabelle Timsit, Washington Post, 28 June 2024

Had Roosevelt not done so, his replacement Harry Truman would not have become president — and a Soviet apologist would have led the United States. —Howard Husock, New York Daily News, 14 May 2024

Only a few months ago, most experts regarded Bolsonaro as unelectable due to his radical positions, his record as an apologist for military dictatorship and torture, his offensive comments about Afro-Brazilians, gay people, and other minorities, and his lack of major party affiliation. —Bruno Carazza, Foreign Affairs, 12 July 2018

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin apologista, from Late Latin apologia "defense in speech or writing" + New Latin -ista -ist entry 1 — more at apology

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

apologist

noun

apol·​o·​gist ə-ˈpäl-ə-jəst 

: one who speaks or writes in defense of a faith, cause, or institution