Apologizing

How to spell apologizing

11 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce apologizing

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does apologizing mean?

1. verbExpressing regret or saying sorry for a fault, offence, or failure.

Apologizing in a sentence

• He spent the whole meeting apologizing for the missed deadline.

• She kept apologizing to the customer for the billing error.

Where does apologizing come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek apologia, which literally meant 'a speech in one's defence', built from apo 'away, off' and logos 'speech' or 'reason', so the original sense was reasoning something away rather than expressing regret. Latin took it as apologia and it passed through French into English in the 1500s, where 'apology' at first meant a formal justification of one's conduct rather than an admission of fault. The verb 'apologize' was formed in English by adding the productive ending -ize, and over the 1600s and 1700s the meaning softened from defending oneself to expressing sorrow for a wrong. The present participle 'apologizing' simply adds -ing. The spelling trap sits in the unstressed middle, the -gize ending, and the temptation to double letters or substitute an 's'; remembering the older relative 'apology' anchors the single 'l' and the 'log' root.

How the word is built

• apolog- (from Greek apologia: a speech in defence)
• -ize (verb-forming suffix)
• -ing (present participle)

British and American spelling

Apologizing is the American spelling. British English spells it apologising.