apologise
/əˈpɑləˌdʒaɪz/
verb
Common
1.v.defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
“rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior”
2.v.acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
“I apologized for being late”
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apologise and apologize are homophones: they are pronounced identically and spelled differently, which is why they are so often swapped. apologise means “defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning”. apologize means “acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing”. apologize is the more common of the two in everyday English.
/əˈpɑləˌdʒaɪz/
1.v.defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
“rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior”
2.v.acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
“I apologized for being late”
| apologise | apologize | |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | /əˈpɑləˌdʒaɪz/ | /əˈpɑləˌdʒaɪz/ |
| Said | uh-PAH-luh-jahyz | uh-PAH-luh-jahyz |
| Syllables | 4 | 4 |
| Letters | 9 | 9 |
| Parts of speech | verb | verb |
| Senses | 2 | 2 |
| How common | Common | Core |
| Synonyms | apologize, excuse, rationalize | apologise |
Full entry for apologise · Full entry for apologize · More comparisons
/əˈpɑləˌdʒaɪz/
1.v.acknowledge faults or shortcomings or failing
“I apologized for being late”
2.v.defend, explain, clear away, or make excuses for by reasoning
“rationalize the child's seemingly crazy behavior”