apologetic
Syllables: apolo·get·ic/əˌpɒləˈdʒɛtɪk//əˌpɑləˈd͡ʒɛtɪk/
apologetic adjective: having the character of apology; regretfully excusing.
Adjective
apologetic (comparative more apologetic, superlative most apologetic)
- Having the character of apology; regretfully excusing.
- His tone was apologetic as he explained what had happened.
- Very different was he, however, from the brusque and masterful professor of common sense who had taken over the case so confidently at Upper Norwood. His expression was downcast, and his bearing meek and even apologetic.1890 February, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “A Break in the Chain”, in The Sign of Four (Standard Library), London: Spencer Blackett […], →OCLC, pages 174–175
- Synonyms:
- sorry, remorseful, regretful
- Defending by words or arguments; said or written in defense.
Noun
apologetic (countable and uncountable, plural apologetics)
apologetic meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Malayalam and Indonesian
apologetic in Tamil
- தவறுக்கு மன்னிப்புக் கோரும், தவறுக்கு வருந்தும், குற்றத்தை வருத்தத்துடன் ஒப்புக்கொள்ளுகிற, செய்ததற்கு இரங்கும் இயல்புடைய, தவறுக்குக் காரணங்காட்டுகிற
apologetic in Urdu
- معذرت خواہ, نادم
apologetic in Malayalam
- ക്ഷമാപണത്തോടെയുളള, ഖേദപൂർവ്വമായ, തർക്കിച്ചു സാധൂകരിക്കുന്ന, മാപ്പപേക്ഷിക്കുന്ന
apologetic in Indonesian
- having the character of apology
- apologetis
- (dated) defending by words
- apologetis
Examples of apologetic in a sentence
- Its approach is a real approach, not an apologetic side-street; its granite building has a dignity in keeping with the famous city skyline it faces, [...].1941 January, C. Hamilton Ellis, “The Scottish Station”, in Railway Magazine, page 3:
- The reply - that it's a magnificent station worthy of pictures - changes his demeanour and he's then very apologetic and says he "has to ask".2025 March 5, “Ayr miles with a 'Spirit of Scotland'”, in RAIL, number 1030, page 43:
Synonyms of apologetic
Forms of apologetic
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more apologetic |
| superlative | most apologetic |
| alternative form | apologetick |
| Noun | |
| plural | apologetics |
Origin of apologetic
From French apologétique, from Latin apologēticus, from Ancient Greek ἀπολογητικός (apologētikós, “of or suitable for defense”), from ἀπολογέομαι (apologéomai, “to speak in defense of”); see more at English apology.
Words formed from apologetic
Phrases with apologetic
Questions about apologetic
- What does apologetic mean?
- Apologetic means having the character of apology; regretfully excusing.
- What is apologetic in Tamil?
- Apologetic in Tamil is தவறுக்கு மன்னிப்புக் கோரும், தவறுக்கு வருந்தும், குற்றத்தை வருத்தத்துடன் ஒப்புக்கொள்ளுகிற. See Apologetic meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use apologetic in a sentence?
- Its approach is a real approach, not an apologetic side-street; its granite building has a dignity in keeping with the famous city skyline it faces, [...].
- What part of speech is apologetic?
- Apologetic can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce apologetic?
- Apologetic is pronounced /əˌpɒləˈdʒɛtɪk/ (UK).
Words near apologetic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: apologetic (page history and authors); apologetic (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); apologetic (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); apologetic (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-apologetic.oga, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vininn126-apologetic.wav.
Cite this entry: “apologetic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/apologetic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.