apostrophize
apostrophize verb: to deliver an apostrophe (a speech, typically exclamatory) to someone, especially someone not present in person as a participant in the conversation, even someone imaginary.
Verb
apostrophize (third-person singular simple present apostrophizes, present participle apostrophizing, simple past and past participle apostrophized)
- To deliver an apostrophe (a speech, typically exclamatory) to someone, especially someone not present in person as a participant in the conversation, even someone imaginary.
- [S]he resumed her former occupation, and continued to soliloquize and apostrophize her absent hand-maidens, without even appearing sensible of his presence.1823 December 23 (indicated as 1824), [Walter Scott], “The Guest”, in St Ronan’s Well. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst...
- "He fully believes he is one of the aristocracy! And he is so condescending to the son he so egregiously deludes that you might suppose him the most virtuous of parents. Oh!" said the old lady, apostrophizing him with infinite vehemence. "I could bite you!"1852 March – 1853 September, Charles Dickens, chapter 14, in Bleak House, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1853, →OCLC
- To add one or more apostrophe characters to text to indicate missing letters.
Forms of apostrophize
| third-person singular present | apostrophizes |
|---|---|
| present participle | apostrophizing |
| past participle | apostrophized |
| past | apostrophized |
| alternative form | apostrophise |
Origin of apostrophize
From apostrophe + -ize.
Words formed from apostrophize
Questions about apostrophize
- What does apostrophize mean?
- Apostrophize means to deliver an apostrophe (a speech, typically exclamatory) to someone, especially someone not present in person as a participant in the conversation, even someone imaginary.
- What part of speech is apostrophize?
- Apostrophize is a verb.
- What is the past tense of apostrophize?
- The past tense of apostrophize is apostrophized.
Words near apostrophize in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: apostrophize (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.
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Cite this entry: “apostrophize.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/apostrophize. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.