apologist

noun

apol·​o·​gist ə-ˈpä-lə-jist 

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

Presumably, when the Great Canadian campaign begins, there will be no shortage of soldiers to fight it, or of apologists ready to enumerate the horrors of Canadian life that must be erased, poutine aside. —Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2025

But the inconvenient truth for Christian nationalist apologists is that to reject empathy is to reject the fundamental teachings of Christianity. —Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025

That concept of freedom might be better exemplified by Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, another Third World death cult that promised liberation and promoted slaughter — and that came with its own prominent apologists on American college campuses. —Bret Stephens, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2025

Now 50 years since the invasion, both the Khmer Rouge and their Western apologists serve as a cautionary tale of the depths to which people can sink for their ideals. —Ray Cavanaugh, Chicago Tribune, 3 Apr. 2025

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

Rhymes for apologist

• biologist
• ecologist
• ethnologist
• geologist
• hydrologist
• neurologist
• oncologist
• pathologist
• philologist
• psychologist
• technologist
• urologist

Kids Definition

apologist

noun

apol·​o·​gist ə-ˈpäl-ə-jəst 

: one who speaks or writes in defense of a faith, cause, or institution