Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use apologetic in a sentence

16 example sentences · adjective, noun

Apologetic means having the character of apology; regretfully excusing. Example: “His tone was apologetic as he explained what had happened.”

Examples of apologetic by meaning

adjectiveHaving the character of apology; regretfully excusing.

  • His tone was apologetic as he explained what had happened.
  • 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

More sentences with apologetic

  • That will ultimately culminate in meek, apologetic and docile behavioral reactions or sometimes in aggressive behavior.2017 May 16, Jerry Stuger, “Kafka and Autism. The Undisclosed Logic Behind Kafka’s Work”, in Journal of Autism and Developmental…. From the entry vantage point
  • Giving the magistra an apologetic nod, he turned to the karanat and observed, “You do speak Esse.2016, Rachel Neumeier, The Mountain of Kept Memory, Saga Press, →ISBN. From the entry magistra
  • Olympic hopeful Alex Ngan didn’t let the closed doors and apologetic gate agent stop him.2016 July 8, Hannah Withiam, “This Olympic dream crushed in most painful way possible”, in New York Post. From the entry Ngan
  • The 32-year-old driver was apologetic, and never tried to dispute the ticket.2007 February 24, Lorena Mongelli, Eric Lenkowitz, “Idiot & Dummy: 'Car Fool' Cheater Nailed in HOV Lane”, in New York Post, retrieved 09…. From the entry cat that ate the canary
  • Commercialism tends to convert criticism into censorship, and critique into apologetic argumentality .2003, Herbert Brün, Mark Enslin, Susan Parenti, Irresistible Observations, →ISBN. From the entry argumentality
  • Demeanors that are apologetic and overly polite are inherently contradictory to demeanors that exhibit fear and anger.1993, “Interrogation: The Kinesics Technique”, in John J. Fay, editor, Encyclopedia of Security Management, →ISBN, page 418. From the entry demeanor
  • Chou was very apologetic all the time he talked to Chiang.1968, Edgar Snow, Random Notes on Red China 1936-1945, 2nd printing, page 2. From the entry sian
  • Elation mingled with something faintly apologetic in the abrupt bestowal of the baronet's unexpected confidence.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards…. From the entry bestowal
  • In the pearlish half-light he made an apologetic smile and scrutinized the violin from the top and then both sides.2024, Scott Alexander Howard, The Other Valley, Atlantic Books (2025), page 125. From the entry pearlish
  • As Sandra Strain had seen it, as quickly as Natty had gotten her goat, she had slaughtered it by being apologetic.2005, Sandy Santistevan, chapter 7, in Song of the Cicada: A Novel, Lincoln, Neb.: iUniverse, →ISBN, page 79. From the entry get someone's goat
  • What was apparent, however, was a certain apologetic attitude such as "he's an American (chupse) but he's all right."1972, Edward Samuel Maynard, Endogamy Among Barbadian Immigrants to New York City. From the entry chupse
  • We should not so much mind these eminent persons being ghouls, if only they were modest and apologetic ghouls.1926 February 13, G. K. Chesterton, editor, G.K.’s Weekly, volume 2, number 48, page 541. From the entry ghoul
  • His figure was bent in apologetic protest.1900, Kenneth Grahame, The Golden Age, page 110. From the entry absent-minded
  • Louisa looked from Everett’s apologetic smile to her mother’s satisfied expression to Juliet’s smirk and realized with a sinking heart that things were, in fact, quite settled.2024, Natalie C. Parker, Three Sides of a Heart, HarperCollins, →ISBN. From the entry sinking heart

Meaning of apologetic

  1. adjective Having the character of apology; regretfully excusing.
  2. adjective Defending by words or arguments; said or written in defense.
  3. noun A formal apology.

Full definition of apologetic

Questions about apologetic in a sentence

How do you use apologetic in a sentence?
Apologetic is used as an adjective and noun. For example: “His tone was apologetic as he explained what had happened.”
What is a short sentence with apologetic?
“His figure was bent in apologetic protest.”
What does apologetic mean?
Apologetic means having the character of apology; regretfully excusing.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: apologetic (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use apologetic in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/apologetic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.