Meanings
plural fauxpologies
- slangSynonym of non-apology.
“Hey love. How'sit?” Jena greets without even a fauxpology for her lateness.
2012, Julie Golden, Vagilantes, Abbott Press, →ISBN, page 1902 more examples
What satirist could then top Texas Republican Joe Barton's coerced, linguistically mangled fauxpology? "If anything I said this morning has been misconstrued to the opposite effect I want to apologize for that misconstrued misconstruction." Translation: It's your fault for hearing me right the first time.
2010 June 23, Ruth Marcus, “The Gulf oil disaster: when bad things happen to bad companies”, in The Seattle TimesThe old “sorry if I upset you” route is the go-to tactic of politicians, celebrities, media corporations and spouses for a reason. It looks and smells like an apology, but acknowledges no wrongdoing. It’s a fauxpology.
2010 October 20, Belinda Luscombe, “Thank You, Ginni Thomas”, in TimeSynonyms: non-apology
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of non-apology.
Origin
Cite this entry
fauxpology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fauxpology
“fauxpology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fauxpology. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “fauxpology,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/fauxpology.
Source: fauxpology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.