What does "apologist" mean?

One who makes an apology.; One who speaks or writes in defense of a faith, a cause, or an institution.

What is a synonym for "apologist"?

Common synonyms include: apologizer, abettor, admirer, advocate, aficionado, alibi ike.

Pronounced //əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪst//.

//əˈpɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪst// noun

noun ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
One who makes an apology.; One who speaks or writes in defense of a faith, a cause, or an institution. broadly, usually
"[…] he will appear to many of the more speculatively minded intellectuals merely as a timid apologist of things as they are; at the same time he will be dismissed by the men of affairs as an impractical theorist."
2
a person who argues to defend or justify some policy or institution wordnet
3
One who makes an apology.; Synonym of apologizer. broadly, uncommon

"He's an apologist for communism."

From apology + -ist, from French apologiste.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.