Apologise Quotes & Sayings

People never fully confront their wrongdoing. They are all trying to push for their own ends, and they lack the strength to truly apologise for that. In my heart of hearts, I wondered if I was just the same. — Guy Mankowski

The day you apologise for who you are is the day you give another control over who you are. — Shane K.P. O'Neill

I may be old-fashioned. But I believe there is such a thing as a search for beauty - a delight in the nice things in the world. And I don't think one should have to apologise for it. — Saul Leiter

I never went to drama school, I don't have any certificates saying: 'He's a qualified actor.' But I did think that 'House' was something I didn't have to apologise for. It was something I was really proud of and it was sort of ... whether you liked it or not, it was undeniable. — Hugh Laurie

Why should I apologise for being utterly honest from the start, telling you the score, telling you the truth, coming to meet your parents, calling them to say I was worried that you didn't answer your phone. Are these the actions of some kind of shit? No, I think they're what a man who loves you might do. — Maeve Binchy

I used to feel compelled to respond. Once I contacted the author of a list of "Ugliest Former Child Actors" to ask her why, as a woman, she was punishing other women for the way they looked. She wrote back immediately to apologise. "I write stupid things on the internet to pay the bills," she said. "I can't afford integrity. — Mara Wilson

Is Gabriel still mad at me?"
"Nesbitt hesitates and then says, "On a scale of one to ten, I'd say he's at nine and a half."
"So, it could be worse then."
"He'll calm down." Nesbitt nudges me and says, "The best thing about arguments is the making-up after. I see a big reconciliation ahead for you two: you apologise and he takes you into his arms and --"
"Nesbitt, shut up. — Sally Green

Another reason why people take me seriously is because I never apologise even when - no, especially when I should,' he told her coolly. 'No pleases, thank yous or sorries - remember that and you might have that interesting year I was talking about. — Sarra Manning

Life is offensive and refuses to apologise — Michael Leunig

I'd never understood whether the vogue for apologising is a sign of humility of impudence: you do something you shouldn't have done, then you apologise and wash your hands of it. — Umberto Eco

It is a little theory of mine that has much exercised my mind lately, that most of the problems of this silly and delightful world derive from our apologising for those things which we ought not to apologise for, and failing to apologise for those things for which apology is necessary. — Stephen Fry

We will not apologise for our way of life. — Barack Obama

Sometimes women entrepreneurs are their own challenge, [in terms of] believing in themselves. There is no need to apologise for being ambitious. — Tory Burch

Finn gave a soft laugh. 'What's so funny?' 'I think you're the first person to actually apologise for inflicting pain. Usually it's someone's hobby. — Tabitha McGowan

Also, I apologise to any woman whose parents were cruel enough to name her Dickina. — L. H. Cosway

When a man holds you round the throat, I don't think he has come to apologise. — Ayrton Senna

If we agree to say that those terrorists are indeed Muslim, I have no problem whatsoever to condemn their actions. I won't apologise though, or justify my point of view. — Tariq Ramadan

We apologise for interrupting your life but we have an important message from our sponsors the Konichiwa collective software, it's a waking sub routine, — Steve Merrick

I don't feel there's any reason to apologise for having a wicked imagination. I think it's important as a maker of fantasy and of horror. — Clive Barker

I refused to be a fool dancing on a string held by all of those big shots. I don't apologise, that's my life — Marlon Brando

[D]on't ever apologise to an author for buying something in paperback, or taking it out from a library (that's what they're there for. Use your library). Don't apologise to this author for buying books second hand, or getting them from bookcrossing or borrowing a friend's copy. What's important to me is that people read the books and enjoy them, and that, at some point in there, the book was bought by someone. And that people who like things, tell other people. The most important thing is that people read ... — Neil Gaiman

John Howard, willing to apologise to home owners for rising interest rates, would not say sorry to Aborigines. He refused to condone what he referred to as 'a black armband version' of history, preferring a jingoistic nationalism. — Richard Flanagan

Never apologise for the questions you asked; apologise for the ones you didn't ask.' The — Jo Nesbo

A fun thing to do to let off steam after layoffs began was to go into someone's office and send an email from their computer addressed to the entire agency. It might say something simple like "My name is Shaw-NEE! You are captured, Ha! I poopie I poopie I poopie." People came in in the morning and their reaction was so varied.
Jim Jackers read it and immediately sent out an email that we read, "Obviously someone come into my office last night and compossed an email in my name and sent it out to everyone. I apologise for any inconvenience or offence, although it wasn't my fault, and I would appreciate from whoever did this a public apology. I have read that email five times now and I still don't understand it. — Joshua Ferris

Did you ever tread on your partner's dress at a dance - I'm speaking now of the days when women wore dresses long enough to be trodden on - and hear it rip and see her smile at you like an angel and say, "Please don't apologise. It's nothing," and then suddenly meet her clear blue eyes and feel as if you had stepped on the teeth of a rake and had the handle jump up and hit you in the face? — P.G. Wodehouse

At the beginning of human history, as we struggled to light fires and to chisel fallen trees into rudimentary canoes, who could have predicted that long after we had managed to send men to the moon and areoplanes to Australasia, we would still have such trouble knowing how to tolerate ourselves, forgive our loved ones, and apologise for our tantrums? — Alain De Botton

I apologise for my behaviour lately. I haven't ... been myself."
Or she'd just been a part of herself that she usually kept on a tight, tight leash, he thought. But he said, "I understand."
And from the way her eyes softened, he knew that was all he'd ever needed to say. — Sarah J. Maas

To the former child migrants, who came to Australia from a home far away, led to believe this land would be a new beginning, when only to find it was not a beginning, but an end, an end of innocence - we apologise and we are sorry. To the mothers who lost the maternal right to love and care for their child - we apologise, and we are sorry. — Malcolm Turnbull

If I think something is right, I'll fight for it - always have. If it's wrong or I've been proved wrong, I'll walk away, and I'll apologise. — Gerry Harvey

To all those who have drawn the inference from my words that Africa, as a continent, is somehow genetically inferior, I can only apologise unreservedly. — James D. Watson

I've learnt that you've got to be really non-apologetic... You've got to say, 'Hi, I'm here, can I have a cup of tea? And one of those biscuits?' If you say that, it's fine. If you go in and say, 'Excuse me, I'm a transvestite, I'll be in the corner, I won't be a problem, I'll face away,' everyone will go, 'Oh-oh, problem case in the corner.' So don't apologise. — Eddie Izzard

My voice is strong and imposing, and my legs are powerful enough to hold up its weight. I wake up every day assured of my right to not only participate in the world as an equal part of it, but to loudly reject the narrative that keeps trying to tell me to pipe down, fold in, shrivel up, simper, apologise and slink my way through life so as not to offend or upset anyone with the complicated, beautiful mess that is me. I have fought the odds to get here, empowered by the knowledge that every single woman who has come before me has fought her own battle in order to survive. We fight like girls. This is how we prevail. And this is why we're still standing. — Clementine Ford

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia's history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future. We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians ... — Kevin Rudd

There's no need to apologise, Justine,' he said tautly. 'No need at all.'
'Good, because I didn't mean to. It's a habit with females, that's all, saying sorry all the time when there's absolutely no need. . . — Miranda Lee

My real dad would never be this rude, I just know it. Even if he was angry, he would hold up his hand to apologise. I would hold up my hand to apologise, and he would hold up his hand even higher to take more of the blame, but I would hold up my hand highest of all to show that it was actually my fault. And with our fingers almost scraping the sky we would smile identical smiles then he would gasp, "It's you!" "Yes!" I would reply, and then we would embrace...' - ppg 10 — Annabel Pitcher

A fool is someone who wants you to apologise for your intelligence
-rassool jibraeel snyman — Rassool Jibraeel Snyman

I do not identify as a person with a disability. I'm a disabled person. And I'll be a monkey's disabled uncle if I'm going to apologise for that. — Stella Young

I just asked them not to volunteer where I was, that's all. I know it was the wrong thing to do, but sometimes - sometimes it doesn't matter. Right, wrong, it's just the thing you have to do. And I had to see you. I had to know you were okay. I'll apologise for basically hovering, but I can't be sorry for being worried about you. I didn't crash your door and demand to see you. I just ... stayed close. -Shane, Fall Of Night — Rachel Caine

I apologise for my friend's rudeness, he just learned how to to walk upright last year. — R.L. Mathewson

When I see my staff take a step back because I've lost my cool about something food-related, I say never apologise for your standards. If someone doesn't meet them, then you should explain that and that you want it changed. I want my staff to be like that, too. — Curtis Stone

I humbly apologise for reality Television. — Cilla Black

There were times when an apology was best, she thought, even when one really had nothing to apologise for. If only people would say sorry sooner rather than later, Mma Ramotswe believed, much discord and unhappiness could be avoided. But that was not the way people were. So often pride stood in the way of apology, and then, when somebody was ready to say sorry, it was already too late. — Alexander McCall Smith

Don't hesitate to apologise online if you've done something ill-advised and it makes its way into the online world. The speed at which other people see what you post means it's highly unlikely that you will be able to remove anything undesirable before at least some people see it. So be prepared to own up for your mistake and say you're sorry. — Kate Moodley

And anyway, never, never apologise the morning after for what your hormones were telling you last night. — Paul Russell

I apologise to people when I need to. — Paula Radcliffe

Perhaps the mistake I made at the start of my mandate is not understanding the symbolic dimension of the president's role and not being solemn enough in my acts. A mistake for which I would like to apologise or explain myself and which I will not make again. Now, I know the job. — Nicolas Sarkozy

By humbly and frankly acknowledging yourself to be in the wrong, there is no knowing, my son, what good you may do. I knew once a gentleman and very worthy practitioner in Vanity Fair, who used to do little wrongs to his neighbours on purpose, and in order to apologise for them in an open and manly way afterwards - and what ensued? My friend Crocky Doyle was liked everywhere, and deemed to be rather impetuous - but the honestest fellow. — William Makepeace Thackeray

The prince put the dagger on the table. "Sorry."
Yorick bent forward and looked up into his eyes. "Don't forget our respective places here. I'm your clown. Your plaything. Your toy. Scarcely human. No need to apologise. — A.J. Hartley

Most of the problems in life are because:
We misunderstand people's intentions,
We don't listen and jump to conclusions,
Then we are too proud to apologise and too stubborn to forgive. — Mouloud Benzadi

I said a lot of things in the heat of the moment that I shouldn't have said. Called him names I shouldn't have called him. I apologise for that. I'm sorry. It was all meant to promote the fight. — Muhammad Ali

It is depressing to have to point out, yet again, that there is a distinction between having the legal right to say something & having the moral right not to be held accountable for what you say. Being asked to apologise for saying something unconscionable is not the same as being stripped of the legal right to say it. It's really not very f-cking complicated. Cry "free speech" in such contexts, you are demanding the right to speak any bilge you wish without apology or fear of comeback. You are demanding not legal rights but an end to debate about and criticism of what you say. When did bigotry get so needy? — China Mieville

A large class of readers ... will suffer greatly from the introduction into the pages of this work of words printed with all their letters, which it has become the custom to represent by the initial and final letter only - a blank line filling the interval. I may as well say at once that, for this circumstance, it is out of my power to apologise; deeming it, myself, a rational plan to write words at full length. The practice of hinting by single letters those expletive with which profane and violent persons are wont to garnish their discourse, strikes me as a proceeding which, however well meant, is weak and futile. I cannot tell what good it does - what feeling it spares - what horror it conceals. — Charlotte Bronte

When a lady condescends to apologise, there is no keeping one's anger. — Anne Bronte

I have learned the lesson the hard way and I hope it serves as a lesson to lots of other young people. I would also like to apologise to all loyal Blue Peter viewers. — Richard Bacon

Our prime minister could embrace and forgive the people who killed our beloved sons and fathers, and so he should, but he could not, would not, apologise to the Aboriginal people for 200 years of murder and abuse. The battle against the Turks, he said in Gallipoli, was our history, our tradition. The war against the Aboriginals, he had already said at home, had happened long ago. The battle had made us; the war that won the continent was best forgotten — Peter Carey

It was not his job at square leg to inform the batsman what I was doing. I did nothing for which I need to apologise. — Mike Gatting

We'd like to apologise to the fans, the chairman, the staff and everyone connected to Newcastle — Lee Bowyer

... that sour blend of loneliness and lust for recognition, shyness and extravagance, deep insecurity and self-intoxicated egomania, that drives poets and writers out of their rooms to seek each other out, to rub shoulders with one another, bully, joke, condescend, feel each other, lay a hand on a shoulder or an arm round a waist, to chat and argue with little nudges, to spy a little, sniff out what is cooking in other pots, flatter, disagree, collude, be right, take offence, apologise, make amends, avoid each other, and seek each other's company again. — Amos Oz

I must apologise because I know all writers have memories of being on the outer because it's the children on the side of the playground who become the dangerous writers. — Thomas Keneally

You don't need to apologise, my friend,' smiled the Pandit. There is no "your god" or ";my god". All godliness comes from the same source. Just the manifestations are different. But I have a feeling that one day you will find a temple worth walking into just for prayer, not to admire its beauty. — Amish Tripathi

I've made apologies to people I needed to, but I can't apologise to people I don't know for things they don't understand. — Sienna Miller

When you feel you've done something wrong, you should apologise for it. — Luis Suarez

If someone treats you bad and they apologise for it: Forgive them.
If someone treats you bad twice and they apologise for it: Drop them. — Steven Aitchison

Social democrats are characteristically modest - a political quality whose virtues are overestimated. We need to apologise a little less for our shortcomings and speak more assertively of achievements. That these were always incomplete should not trouble us. — Tony Judt

You ate something that disagreed with you last night, didn't you?' I said, by way of giving him a chance to slide out of it if he wanted to. But he wouldn't have it at any price.
'No!' he replied firmly. 'I didn't do anything of the kind. I drank too much. Much too much. Lots and lots too much. And, what's more, I'm going to do it again. I'm going to do it every night. If ever you see me sober, old top,' he said, with a kind of holy exaltation, 'tap me on the shoulder and say "Tut! Tut!" and I'll apologise and remedythe defect. — P.G. Wodehouse

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians. We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country. — Kevin Rudd

I don't want anybody, whether it's my grandchildren or any of our employees' grandchildren, to have to apologise for working for Ford Motor Company. In fact, I want the opposite. I want them to look and say, 'What a difference we made!' — William Clay Ford Jr.

If you even dream of beating me, you better wake up and apologise! — Muhamad Bin Ali

I think you've seen Aslan," said Edmund.
"Aslan!" said Eustace. "I've heard that name mentioned several times since we joined the Dawn Treader. And I felt - I don't know what - I hated it. But I was hating everything then. And by the way, I'd like to apologise. I'm afraid I've been pretty beastly."
"That's all right," said Edmund. "Between ourselves, you haven't been as bad as I was on my first trip to Narnia. You were only an ass, but I was a traitor."
"Well, don't tell me about it, then," said Eustace. "But who is Aslan? Do you know him?"
"Well - he knows me," said Edmund. "He is the great Lion, the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, who saved me and saved Narnia. We've all seen him. Lucy sees him most often. And it may be Aslan's country we are sailing to. — C.S. Lewis

Kasta looked from one of them to the other, the two of them shaking hands, understanding each other's concern. She didn't see where Giddon came off feeling insulted. She didn't see how Giddon had any place in it at all. Who were they, to take her fight away from her and turn it into some sort of understanding between themselves? She would knock his nose from his face. She would thump them both, and she would apologise to neither. — Kristin Cashore

I once tried to implement an office procedure where, at 4.30pm each day, everyone would insult each other for fifteen minutes and then, for the last fifteen minutes of each day, apologise to each person for what had been said. This way, everyone would leave happy with all issues sorted. It did not go down well. Two formal complaints were made and the secretary locked herself in the toilet and cried. Also, — David Thorne

Ferguson's out of order. He has lost all sense of reality. He is going out looking for a confrontation, then asking the person he is confronting to apologise. He's pushed the cork in a bit far this time. — Arsene Wenger

If there's one thing I'm not going to apologise for as the leader of the Liberal Democrats in government after 60 or 70 years of being out of government, it's that you just cannot avoid but deal with the world the way it is. — Nick Clegg

Indeed, an astoundingly small proportion of arguments 'for free speech' and 'against censorship' or 'banning' are, in fact, about free speech, censorship or banning. It is depressing to have to point out, yet again, that there is a distinction between having the legal right to say something & having the moral right not to be held accountable for what you say. Being asked to apologise for saying something unconscionable is not the same as being stripped of the legal right to say it. It's really not very f-cking complicated. Cry "free speech" in such contexts, you are demanding the right to speak any bilge you wish without apology or fear of comeback. You are demanding not legal rights but an end to debate about and criticism of what you say. When did bigotry get so needy? This assertive & idiotic failure to understand that juridical permissibility backed up by the state is not the horizon of politics or morality is absurdly resilient. — China Mieville

We must apologise to the readers for returning with such insistence to the Robinson Crusoe and Friday story, which properly belongs to the nursery and not to the field of science - but how can we help it? — Friedrich Engels

Look, I'm not going to apologise anymore ... Yes, I want to protect you. You're my wife. I'd fucking kill for you, Liv, and if that makes me a possessive bastard of a husband, then fine. That's what I am. I'm not going to change either. I love you too goddamned much. — Nina Lane

You're complaining about getting personal now? You openly objectified my arse and quite happily snuggled into my chest as I carried you for over five minutes, I didn't hear you complaining about getting personal then,' he replied looking amused.
'I could hardly complain, I'd passed out and I've no recollection of snuggling,' I objected.
'But you've already admitted to the ogling. That's personal, so you owe me one.'
'Fine I apologise for staring at your arse and that it may in any way have made you feel devalued as a human being, but don't tell me that you didn't enjoy touching me up as you carried me. — C.J. Fallowfield

It is quite disappointing that people you love the most don't love what you love the most. They don't know you. Don't apologise for your dreams. — Enock Maregesi

Apology is pointless. Apologies are for when you forget something. Or bump into somebody. Apologies are for accidents. You can't apologise for something you chose to do. That's like apologising for being you. — Steven Camden

Mr Markham, the box marked "Sex" is not an invitation. Please amend the details and apologise to Mrs Partridge. — Jodi Taylor

I feel like the rap metal at the end of the 1990s destroyed rock music for everybody and suddenly everybody felt like they had to apologise for being in rock bands. People suddenly felt bad about wanting to reach massive audiences and the sense of theatre, that we have in our live show, became something to avoid. — Nate Ruess

His palm presses against my cheek, stroking away stray strands of hair, "Eve, I've never been so scared. The thought that I'd never get to see you again, to apologise for the way I treated you, I couldn't bear it. When they dragged you out I was so relieved, knowing that I had a chance to get you back." He squeezes me tightly against his body as he admits, "I can't lose you Eve. Them taking you made everything so clear. I love you and I thought I wasn't going to get the chance to prove how much. I couldn't let that happen. — Angela Louise McGurk

I'm terribly sorry, Fergal."
"What for? Marrying him? I should think you would be, Angel. — Trisha Ashley

Never waste time holding grudges for people who have wronged you.
Time waits for no one.
Apologise when you are wrong,
Express your love when you should,
Forgive the ones who wronged you,
And appreciate the one who makes efforts to see you smile. — Nomthandazo Tsembeni

When you've been brought up in variety, I think timing is always important in your life. If I'm ever late for anything, whether it's personal or business, I always apologise. 'I'm sorry I'm late,' and all that. And if somebody is late meeting me, I expect them to say 'I'm sorry I'm late.' It's just, shall we say, showbiz etiquette of my day. — Bruce Forsyth

What I said
Wasn't wise
It wasn't even true
I apologise — John Walter Bratton

You don't apologise,' (Deacon) said, pressing a kiss to my greasy head, unlocking best friend status. — Jennifer L. Armentrout

The one thing you should never do to a woman, whether you make love to her or fuck her, is apologise straight after. — Dianna Hardy

It was at that moment, standing next to her, that I figured out the truth. The truth was that Mom saw it too: the peeling paint, the cigarette butts on the stairs, everything. It soaked into me like water into sand, fast and heavy-making. But I still couldn't apologise for what I'd said. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I couldn't even smile at her. — Rebecca Stead

I believed that, in a situation where the community that I came from were being treated like second- and third-class citizens, that I had a responsibility to fight back against it. And I don't apologise to anybody for having done that. I think it was the right thing to do. — Martin McGuinness

I apologise, your Highness. Murder can be a painful business. — Joe Abercrombie

It is better to apologise later than to ask for permission now. It is called self leadership — Janna Cachola

I tried to push him away with my head. I apologise to everyone. I should not have got involved in it. — Alan Pardew

Certainly the party counts a considerable number of intellectuals among its members, but I am by no means disposed to apologise for that. — Harry Oppenheimer

Life is so short. Grudges are a waste of time. Laugh when you can, apologise when you should, and trust God with what you cannot change. — Nicky Gumbel

President Mandela was never scared to admit his own mistakes and then almost jump at the opportunity of apologising and then to move on. — Zelda La Grange

What Black Consciousness seeks to do is to produce real black people who do not regard themselves as appendages to white society. We do not need to apologise for this because it is true that the white systems have produced through the world a number of people who are not aware that they too are people. — Steve Biko

Never apologise for not being someone else. You're bound to find something you're good at, even if it's only writing stories. — Geraldine McCaughrean

I'd like to apologise to the British people for the state our politics is in. — Anna Soubry

If I could apologise and go back and change history I would do. But the goal is still a goal, Argentina became world champions and I was the best player in the world. — Diego Maradona