apology

/əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/

//əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"apology" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“apology” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #6,541. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#6,541
frequency rank, English
3,931
“A” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - An expression of remorse or regret for having said or done something that harmed another: an instance of apologizing (saying that one is sorry).

Corpus desk

Index EN-apology · apology · English

apology · rank #6,541 · 10 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-COMMON #6,541
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,931
  • PHOTO-FINISH alter

Nearest frequency peer: alter (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “apology”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “apology” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

apology vs analogy
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for apology
PropertyValue
Headwordapology
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/
Letters7
Frequency rank#6,541
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “apology”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).apologylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “alter” (#6,540), “Arkansas” (#6,542), “adequate” (#6,539). Among 3,931 “A” headwords, “apology” is #6,541. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around apology (IPA /əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #6,541 among 3,931 “A” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for apology, with forms such as "aoplogy", "aploogy", and "apolgoy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "analogy", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From French apologie, from Late Latin apologia, from Ancient Greek ἀπολογία (apología, “a speech in defence”), from ἀπολογοῦμαι (apologoûmai, “I speak in my defense”), from ἀπόλογος (apólogos, “an account, story”), from ἀπό (apó, “from, off”) (see apo-) + λ… The correct English form is apology, spelled A-P-O-L-O-G-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    An expression of remorse or regret for having said or done something that harmed another: an instance of apologizing (saying that one is sorry).
  2. 2
    A formal justification, defence.
  3. 3
    Anything provided as a substitute; a makeshift.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how apology appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. What he said really hurt my feelings, but his apology sounded so sincere that I couldn't help but forgive him.
  2. The CEO made a public apology for the scandal, and promised full cooperation with the authorities.

Etymology

From French apologie, from Late Latin apologia, from Ancient Greek ἀπολογία (apología, “a speech in defence”), from ἀπολογοῦμαι (apologoûmai, “I speak in my defense”), from ἀπόλογος (apólogos, “an account, story”), from ἀπό (apó, “from, off”) (see apo-) + λόγος (lógos, “speech”). Doublet of apologia. By surface analysis, apo- + -logy.

This word in other languages

disculpa(Español)excuse(Français)Entschuldigung(Deutsch)desculpa(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • aoplogy
  • aploogy
  • apolgoy
  • apollogy
  • apologgy
  • apologyy
  • apoloyg
  • apoolgy
  • appology
  • paology

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of apology - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

aoplogy2aploogy2apolgoy2apollogy1apologgy1apologyy1apoloyg2apoolgy2
Edit distance from "apology"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "apology"?
"apology" is spelled A-P-O-L-O-G-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/.
What does "apology" mean?
As a noun, "apology" means: An expression of remorse or regret for having said or done something that harmed another: an instance of apologizing (saying that one is sorry).
What words are commonly confused with "apology"?
"apology" is commonly confused with "analogy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "apology"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "apology" is /əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "apology"?
From French apologie, from Late Latin apologia, from Ancient Greek ἀπολογία (apología, “a speech in defence”), from ἀπολογοῦμαι (apologoûmai, “I speak in my defense”), from ἀπόλογος (apólogos, “an account, story”), from ἀπό (apó, “from, off”) (see... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "apology", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unhappy#6,535bowling#6,548declare#6,555shadows#6,518

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

adequate10 variantsobserve10 variantsMontana10 variantsshooter10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list