: a defense especially of one's opinions, position, or actions
the finest apologia or explanation of what drives a man to devote his life to pure mathematicsBritish Book News
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As you might expect, apologia is a close relative of apology. Both words derive from Late Latin; apologia came to English as a direct borrowing while apology traveled through Middle French. The Latin apologia derives from a combination of the Greek prefix apo-, meaning "away from," and the word logia, from Greek lógos, meaning "speech." In their earliest English uses, apologia and apology meant basically the same thing: a formal defense or justification of one's actions or opinions. Nowadays, however, the two are distinct. The modern apology generally involves an admission of wrongdoing and an expression of regret for past actions, while an apologia typically focuses on explaining, justifying, or making clear the grounds for some course of action, belief, or position.
apology usually applies to an expression of regret for a mistake or wrong with implied admission of guilt or fault and with or without reference to mitigating or extenuating circumstances.
said by way of apology that he would have met them if he could
apologia implies not admission of guilt or regret but a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.
his speech was an apologia for his foreign policy
excuse implies an intent to avoid or remove blame or censure.
used illness as an excuse for missing the meeting
plea stresses argument or appeal for understanding or sympathy or mercy.
her usual plea that she was nearsighted
pretext suggests subterfuge and the offering of false reasons or motives in excuse or explanation.
used any pretext to get out of work
alibi implies a desire to shift blame or evade punishment and imputes mere plausibility to the explanation.
his alibi failed to stand scrutiny
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe rest of the campaign was a long apologia for Mr. Biden’s strategy of limiting his public exposure by campaigning in his Delaware basement. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 19 June 2022 Unilever seemed prepared for the backlash, adding a scoop of apologia to its statement. Emily Heil, Anchorage Daily News, 26 July 2022 Unilever seemed prepared for the backlash, adding a scoop of apologia to its statement. Emily Heil, Washington Post, 26 July 2022 Barr offers an extended apologia that tries to square his position on putting people to death with his religious faith.New York Times, 27 Feb. 2022 No such apologia can be made for Baudelaire, who was nonetheless the greatest poet-critic of his time and who will remain a titan for as long as there is literature. Ange Mlinko, The New York Review of Books, 23 Mar. 2022 So is his apologia for the insurrectionists since then. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 24 Feb. 2022 Demonstrators disrupted the campus, calling his theory an apologia for the status quo.Washington Post, 27 Dec. 2021 Demonstrators disrupted the campus, calling his theory an apologia for the status quo. Patricia Sullivan, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Dec. 2021 See More