a ‧ pol ‧ o ‧ gy S3 /əˈpɒlədʒi $ əˈpɑː-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural apologies )
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Late Latin ; Origin: apologia 'written or spoken defense' , from Greek , from apo- ( ⇨ ↑ apocalypse ) + logos 'speech' ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] something that you say or write to show that you are sorry for doing something wrong
apology for
The minister had to issue a formal public apology for his remarks.
apology from
She finally received an apology from the company.
apology to
an apology to passengers for any inconvenience caused
2 . apologies [plural] a message that you send to a meeting to say that you will not be able to come to the meeting:
Edward can’t be here today, but he sends his apologies.
3 . make your apologies to say that you are sorry but you have to leave:
I quickly made my apologies and left.
4 . make no apology for something to not say that you are sorry for something, because you do not regret it and you think it is the right thing to do:
We make no apology for defending our members’ interests – that is our job.
5 . [countable] literary a statement in which you defend something you believe in after it has been criticized by other people
apology for
an apology for Christianity
6 . an apology for something a very bad example of something:
They served us up an apology for a meal.
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COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ make an apology
I hope you are going to make an apology.
▪ issue an apology (=make an official public apology)
North Korea issued an official apology for the incident.
▪ get/receive an apology
He received a formal apology from the company.
▪ offer an apology
We would like to offer our sincere apologies for the delay.
▪ accept sb’s apology
Please accept my apologies for having to cancel our meeting.
▪ demand an apology
China continued to demand a full apology from the US.
▪ owe somebody an apology
I’m afraid I owe you an apology.
▪ publish an apology (=print it in a newspaper)
The newspaper group was forced to publish a full apology.
▪ mumble/mutter an apology (=say it quietly, especially because you are embarrassed)
He bumped into me and mumbled an apology.
■ adjectives
▪ my sincere/profound apologies (=used when you feel very sorry )
Firstly, my sincere apologies for not having contacted you earlier.
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‘I have been guilty of making some insensitive remarks,’ said Wright, who offered his profound apologies to everyone concerned.
▪ a public apology
The authorities published a public apology in the newspaper.
▪ a formal apology
Russia is demanding a formal apology.
▪ an official apology
The company has made an official apology and is offering compensation.
▪ a written apology
The police sent a written apology to the family.
▪ a full apology
The Prime Minister made a full apology in the House of Commons.
▪ an abject apology formal (=one that shows that you are very sorry)
The BBC issued an abject apology for insulting the Queen.
▪ profuse apologies formal (=when someone says that they are sorry several times )
Moira telephoned with profuse apologies for the misunderstanding.
■ phrases
▪ a letter of apology
We agreed to write a letter of apology.