Apology Meaning
/əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounAn expression of remorse or regret for having said or done something that harmed another: an instance of apologizing (saying that one is sorry).
nounA formal justification, defence.
Sentence Examples
You don't have to make an apology.
You owe me an apology for that.
I must offer you an apology for coming late.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
She wrote a sincere ____ for breaking his favorite vase.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He sent a letter of ____ for missing her graduation party last week.
Word Origin & History
From French apologie, from Late Latin apologia, from Ancient Greek ἀπολογία (apología, “a speech in defence”), from ἀπολογοῦμαι (apologoûmai, “I speak in my defense”), from ἀπόλογος (apólogos, “an account, story”), from ἀπό (apó, “from, off”) (see apo-) + λόγος (lógos, “speech”). Doublet of apologia. By surface analysis, apo- + -logy.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[He] goes to work devising apologies for window curtains."
— 1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 20, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC:
"The response to firing is remarkable, and though the 280 lb. pressure seems more in the nature of a reserve for emergencies than a continuous working figure, even with the present-day apology for coal it seldom fell below 250 lb., and could always be brought up to blowing-off point with little difficulty. To this liveliness of steaming the thermic syphons are doubtless the chief contributory."
— 1947 January and February, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 39:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She wrote a sincere ____ for breaking his favorite vase.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He sent a letter of ____ for missing her graduation party last week.