Which to use
“apologise” and “apologize” are a confusable English pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.
- #11,833
- “apologise” frequency rank
- #5,473
- “apologize” frequency rank
- 17306
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | apologise | apologize |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Non-Oxford British English standard spelling of apologize. | To make an apology or excuse; to acknowledge some fault or offense, with expression of regret for it, by way of amends |
Same sound, different letters: apologise vs apologize
Muted letters are shared; highlighted letters are the only spelling cue when pronunciation matches. Shared run: 8 letters. apologise and apologize follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCVCVCVCV). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.
Same sound, different spelling - apologise / apologize
This is the hard kind. apologise and apologize are pronounced identically (/əˈpɒləˌd͡ʒaɪz/) and both work as averb. Neither the ear nor the grammar will rescue you; only the meaning does, so the glosses below are the whole decision. They differ by a single letter - s in “apologise” becomes z in “apologize”. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 17306, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
apologise is recorded at frequency rank #11,833, classified as averb, pronounced /əˈpɒləˌd͡ʒaɪz/. apologize is at rank #5,473, tagged as averb, pronounced /əˈpɒləd͡ʒaɪz/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 17306, this pair ranks #452,283 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.
Orthographic DNA of apologise vs apologize
Shared letters: aegilop. Private to "apologise": s. Private to "apologize": z.
"apologise" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCV · "apologize" · 9 letters · shape VCVCVCVCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Do "apologise" and "apologize" mean the same thing in a sentence?
In ordinary English text, does "apologise" or "apologize" show up more?
Useful next steps
Sound matches; spelling doesn't. Use the exits below to lock the right form or check a cousin pair.
- Full dictionary entry for "apologise" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "apologize" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #452,283 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "apologise" and "apologize" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "apologise vs apologist". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #452,283 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.