apologist

noun

apol·​o·​gist ə-ˈpä-lə-jist How to pronounce apologist (audio)
plural apologists
: someone who speaks or writes in defense of someone or something that is typically controversial, unpopular, or subject to criticism
… an apologist for moneyed interests.S. L. Price
Apologists argued that funneling contracts to his children did not matter too much since the projects—new roads, factories, airports—did get built.Johanna McGeary
Apologists for the status quo will always claim that if change were really needed, the market would have already made it happen.Michael Grunwald

Examples of apologist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Not just Hearst but also Henry Ford and others among the nation’s richest men were some of the chief apologists for Nazi Germany. Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 1 Mar. 2024 Israel’s apologists highlight the horrific Oct. 7 massacre of Israelis as justification, depending on listeners to forget decades-long military occupation of the West Bank and corresponding blockade of Gaza, unequivocal acts of war to which most of us would support resistance anywhere else. Steve Koppman, The Mercury News, 7 Mar. 2024 Or the parade of insufferable Sixers apologists in Bristol. Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, 27 Jan. 2024 As is common in rape cases worldwide, apologists advance all sorts of theories as to why the victim is actually to blame. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 7 Nov. 2023 There’s also RedBalloon, an anti-woke job database that promises to help conservatives find work with right-wing employers and was founded by an elder of a controversial Idaho church whose pastor is a slavery apologist. Kathryn Joyce, The New Republic, 12 Sep. 2023 Some apologists have found enough elasticity in their imaginations to stretch to the point of calling it an exception to God’s law, a test of faith from on high, considering it an honorable sacrifice, blah-blah-blah. Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Sep. 2023 After the Civil War, Confederate apologists claimed that the struggle had been over states’ rights and Northern aggression, not slavery; that slaveholding was just and benevolent; and that the South was morally and socially superior to the North. Gerard Helferich, WSJ, 10 Sep. 2023 As an apologist, Wright suggests, less persuasively, that the Jewish stories have a special virtue for having been forged in the smithy of suffering. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'apologist.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin apologista, from Late Latin apologia "defense in speech or writing" + New Latin -ista -ist entry 1 — more at apology

First Known Use

1602, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of apologist was in 1602

Dictionary Entries Near apologist

Cite this Entry

“Apologist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apologist. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

apologist

noun
apol·​o·​gist ə-ˈpäl-ə-jəst How to pronounce apologist (audio)
: one who speaks or writes in defense of a faith, cause, or institution

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