apologia
noun
British Book News
Did you know?
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.
Example Sentences
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 Word History
borrowed from Late Latin — more at apology
1784, in the meaning defined above
apologia
noun
Synonyms & Similar Words
- apology
- justification
- excuse
- defense
- alibi
- vindication
- explanation
- argument
- rationale
- accounting
- plea
- case
- appeal
- rationalization
- reason
- account
- pretext
- pretense
- guise
- pretence
Synonym Chooser
Some common synonyms of apologia are alibi, apology, excuse, plea, and pretext. While all these words mean "matter offered in explanation or defense," apologia implies not admission of guilt or regret but a desire to make clear the grounds for some course, belief, or position.
The meanings of alibi and apologia largely overlap; however, alibi implies a desire to shift blame or evade punishment and imputes mere plausibility to the explanation.
Although the words apology and apologia have much in common, 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.
The words excuse and apologia are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, excuse implies an intent to avoid or remove blame or censure.
The synonyms plea and apologia are sometimes interchangeable, but plea stresses argument or appeal for understanding or sympathy or mercy.
In some situations, the words pretext and apologia are roughly equivalent. However, pretext suggests subterfuge and the offering of false reasons or motives in excuse or explanation.