Apologise or Apologize?

Differences Between US and UK Grammar #4 - Apologize vs. Apologise

Is it apologise or apologize?

Both spellings are correct, but the differences are as follows.

Apologise: British spelling 🇬🇧(UK)
Apologize: American spelling 🇺🇸(US)

Other similar words

The -se versus -ze spelling difference comes up often between American and British English. Below are some other common words in the English language that are spelled with -se in British English and -ze in American English. Notice how the words are all verbs. However, there are some exceptions, some of which we list later.

alphabetise (UK), alphabetize (US)
analyse (UK), analyze (US)
authorise (UK), authorize (US)
categorise (UK), categorize (US)
criticise (UK), criticize (US)
equalise (UK), equalize (US)
finalise (UK), finalize (US)
hospitalise (UK), hospitalize (US)
materialise (UK), materialize (US)
maximise (UK), maximize (US)
optimise (UK), optimize (US)
organise (UK), organize (US)
personalise (UK), personalize (US)
popularise (UK), popularize (US)
prioritise (UK), prioritize (US)
realise (UK), realize (US)
recognise (UK), recognize (US)
revolutionise (UK), revolutionize (US)
specialise (UK), specialize (US)
standardise (UK), standardize (US)
summarise (UK), summarize (US)
symbolise (UK), symbolize (US)
visualise (UK), visualize (US)

Exceptions: verbs that always end in -se

advertise
advise
comprise
compromise
despise
devise
disguise
exercise
improvise
praise
promise
revise
rise
supervise
surprise

There are also other spelling patterns that distinguish British and American spelling. The o versus ou in words like Color or Colour, the -ed versus -t in past tense verbs like Dreamt or Dreamed, and the -ce versus -se in words like offense or offense are some of the notable differences.

Example sentences

The two spellings apologize and apologize have the same meaning, so they can be used interchangeably. However, be sure to stay consistent to either American or British English in the same piece of writing.

I apologized to the young lady for accidentally stepping on her foot.
Kenny has too much pride to apologise to his cousin even though he is in the wrong.
Sherry wanted to apologize to you for taking your favorite color.
I apologise for parking my lorry in your reserved parking space.
Did you apologize to Renee last night after the incident?
I heard that Elaine apologised publicly on his social media platforms.
James is going to apologize to Terri for all the terrible things he said to her when they were in elementary school.
You don’t need to apologize for that.
The group of secondary school students was caught vandalising the school library, and Jodi was the first to apologise.
We apologize in advance for the low-quality audio in this recording that we are going to play back to you.

Notice that in the third example above, the American spelling, apologize, was used along with color, the American spelling of colour. Likewise, in the fourth example, the British spelling apologise was used with the British lorry (truck in American English). In the seventh example, the American apologize and elementary school (primary school in British English) were used together. Finally in the ninth example, the British secondary school, vandalising, and apologise were used.

Before writing, choose whether you want your piece of writing to be in American, British, or any other accepted variant of English. Be sure to stay consistent throughout your paper or publication.