English Meaning & Definitions
Feeling or showing regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure.
- “He sent an apologetic email to his boss after missing the important deadline.”
- “She gave an apologetic smile when she realized she had interrupted the speaker.”
Defensive or serving as a formal justification for a doctrine or belief.
- “The author wrote an apologetic essay defending the controversial political stance.”
- “His tone was apologetic, attempting to justify the logic behind the radical policy change.”
English Synonyms & Near Equivalents
English Antonyms & Opposites
Comprehensive Thesaurus Breakdown
Compare formal, informal, literary synonyms and register nuances for “apologetic”.
Derived from the Greek 'apologetikos', meaning 'fit for defending'. It stems from 'apologia' (a speech in defense), composed of 'apo-' (away) and 'logos' (speech/reason). Historically, it referred to a formal defense of a belief or doctrine, but shifted in common usage to denote the expression of regret.
Think of a 'log' of 'apologies': when you are apologetic, you have a long list of things you are sorry for.
Frequently Asked Questions About “apologetic”
1. What is the meaning of “apologetic” in English?
In English, apologetic (adjective) is defined as: “Feeling or showing regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure.”.
2. How do you use “apologetic” in a sentence?
“He sent an apologetic email to his boss after missing the important deadline.”
3. What are English synonyms of “apologetic”?
4. What is the etymology and word origin of “apologetic”?
Derived from the Greek 'apologetikos', meaning 'fit for defending'. It stems from 'apologia' (a speech in defense), composed of 'apo-' (away) and 'logos' (speech/reason). Historically, it referred to a formal defense of a belief or doctrine, but shifted in common usage to denote the expression of regret.
🇬🇧More English Words to English
View all English words →A measurement of time indicating an instantaneous occurrence or a state where no time has elapsed.
The base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), equal to the duration of 9,192,631,770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the caesium-133 atom.
A specific duration of time equal to one hour and forty-six minutes and twelve seconds.
The cardinal number equal to one thousand million (1,000,000,000), expressed in scientific notation as 10^9.