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# apology

«apology» in Mova's school dictionary: **sorry for something you did wrong or for hurting someone** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (an apology, apologies)

### meaning for a pupil

1) Words that say you are sorry for something you did wrong or for hurting someone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#m1)

2) A message saying someone cannot come: "apologies for absence". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#m2)

3) An apology can also be a polite excuse for a small trouble, such as interrupting someone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In manners and feelings lessons, a good apology says sorry, names what you did, and tries to make it right. In stories, an apology can mend a friendship. Phrases: make an apology, say an apology, owe someone an apology, accept an apology, a letter of apology.

### examples

- I owe you an apology for being rude. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#x1)
- He made an apology to his teacher. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#x2)
- She accepted my apology and we played again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#x3)
- A real apology means you try not to do it again. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#x4)
- Please write a letter of apology to the neighbour. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#x5)
- My apologies for being late. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/#x6)

### note

Countable: one apology, two apologies (y changes to ies). Use "an" before it: an apology. The verb is "apologise" (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland) or "apologize" (USA, Canada). A sincere apology is more than just the word "sorry"; it means you understand what went wrong.

### In the corpora

- [A real apology names what you did wrong and does not add "but".](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/37-sorry-white-lies-and-because-i-said-so/6/)
- [A public apology is judged by what the person does next; saying sorry in front of millions is hard.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/53-breakfast-and-chat-shows-celebrity-gossip-on-the-sofa/20/)
- [The Mole's apology: «I am very sorry indeed for my foolish and ungrateful conduct ...](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/books/28-willows-ch1-part4-sploosh/28/)
- [A real apology says what you did wrong and does not add an excuse.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/54-solving-disagreements-calmly/14/)
- [A real apology owns up to what you did without an excuse.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/60-reasoning-about-people/18/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «apology» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/apology/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.