apologia

American  

[ap-uh-loh-jee-uh] / ˌæp əˈloʊ dʒi ə /

noun

1. an apology, as in defense or justification of a belief, idea, etc.

2. Literature. a work written as an explanation or justification of one's motives, convictions, or acts.

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apologia British  

/ ˌæpəˈləʊdʒɪə /

noun

1. a formal written defence of a cause or one's beliefs or conduct

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Etymology

Origin of apologia

1775–85; < Late Latin < Greek: a speaking in defense. See apo-, log-, -ia

Example Sentences

Startling, not because of the writing—which is often repetitive, tediously autobiographical and awash with anticolonial pieties—but because “Slow Poison” is an apologia for Uganda’s Idi Amin, a bloodthirsty tyrant like few others in modern history.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 15, 2025

The new film is the director’s penance: an apologia to musical lovers who want to see the star do every inch of the dancing.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 9, 2025

This form of rationalization and denial is embarrassingly evident in a recent apologia by David Brooks, the New York Times’ notion of an ideal conservative.

From Salon • Jul. 26, 2025

An apologia writ in hair about what happens when a muscular intellect is married to frail corporate governance.

From New York Times • Oct. 27, 2023

Such bereavement, witnessed at close range, makes even the most eloquent apologia for high-risk activities ring fatuous and hollow.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer