Apologizing Quotes

“It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.”
― P.G. Wodehouse, The Man Upstairs and Other Stories

“Why do girls always feel like they have to apologize for giving an opinion or taking up space in the world? Have you ever noticed that?" Nicole asked. "You go on websites and some girl leaves a post and if it's longer than three sentences or she's expressing her thoughts about some topic, she usually ends with, 'Sorry for the rant' or 'That may be dumb, but that's what I think.”
― Libba Bray, Beauty Queens

“But when someone does wrong, when we make mistakes, we don’t say we’re sorry. We promise to make amends.”
“I will.”
“Mati en sheva yelu. This action will have no echo. It means we won’t repeat the same mistakes, that we won’t continue to do harm.”
― Leigh Bardugo, Crooked Kingdom

“Nothing changes until people decide to do the things they must, in order to bring about peace.”
― Shannon L. Alder

“She'd never mastered the talent for apologizing, but she appreciated it in other people.”
― Terry Pratchett, Wyrd Sisters

“The first reaction is surely the most natural one, but not always the most correct one; thereupon, the invention of apologies.”
― Criss Jami, Healology

“It doesn't mean I am afraid of conflict or don’t know how to stand up for myself. I am getting to a place right in the middle where I feel good about exactly how much I apologize. It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for. It takes years to find your voice and seize your real estate.”
― Amy Poehler, Yes Please

“If you think the most courageous and difficult thing you can do is stubbornly stand your ground, try graciously giving in.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Slaying Dragons: Quotes, Poetry, & a Few Short Stories for Every Day of the Year

“I think the world honestly would be a much healthier place if instead of trying to find rationalizations for our bad behavior we would just say, "I was an asshole. Sure, there were reasons behind it, but that doesn't matter.”
― Colin Quinn, The Coloring Book: A Comedian Solves Race Relations in America

“You can edit what you write. Why not edit what you say? If it hurts somebody, you can still offer an apology or withdraw your statements”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“Apologizing doesn't mean anything when you have no intention of fixing the problem in the first place.”
― Lauren Asher, Final Offer

“I edit myself into a boldness that is neither native or foreign to me. At times I grow tired of this approach, and all its gendered baggage. Over the years I’ve had to train myself to wipe the ‘sorry’ off almost every work e-mail I write; otherwise, each might begin, Sorry for the delay, Sorry for the confusion, Sorry for 'whatever’. 'One only has to read interviews with outstanding women to hear them apologizing’ [Monique Wittig]. But I don’t intend to denigrate the power of apology: I keep in my 'sorry’ when I really mean it. And certainly there are many speakers whom I’d like to see do more trembling, more unknowing, more apologizing.”
― Maggie Nelson, The Argonauts

“You are being abused if you find yourself apologizing when you didn't do anything.”
― Tracy A. Malone

“In order to apologize—really apologize, and not just utter some words—for something one has done or failed to do, one has not only to acknowledge responsibility for but express sincere sorrow and regret over this action or inaction. One can apologize only for acts for which one has no excuse. If one has an excuse, there is nothing to apologize for, even if there is something to feel sorry about ('I'm sorry that you are hurt,' even 'I'm sorry that my actions hurt you,' is quite different from 'I'm sorry that I hurt you'). A genuine apology thus involves a rather raw exposure of the apologizer: Having done the deed, one now not only reiterates having done it, but strips away any suggestion that there are extenuating circumstances that could relieve one of blame; it must be clear that he regrets what he has done and feels sorrow over what he was wrought. He doesn't just wish things were otherwise; he fully acknowledges his role in bringing them to this sorry state.”
― Elizabeth V. Spelman, Repair: The Impulse to Restore in a Fragile World

“No, you're not. If you were really sorry, you wouldn't have done it. We do as we please, and then say we're sorry. But we're not sorry. We're just uncomfortable--watching other people in pain.”
― Sarah Ruhl, The Clean House

“We should try to explain ourselves only to those who value us in their life.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“A lady need never apologize. ~ Joseph de Bonaparte (Brother of Napoleon)”
― Allison Pataki, The Queen's Fortune

“Being sorry pays, being sorry even, or especially, when one has no fault, is worth every self-deprecating syllable the mouth allows. Because the mouth must eat.”
― Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

“Apologetics=faith is weak, lets defend it”
― Bangambiki Habyarimana, Pearls Of Eternity

“To think I actually talked to the boy who nearly got you killed," Ivy mutters, shuddering with disgust. "I'm so sorry I did."
"It's okay. You didn't know," I reassure her as we take a seat on some pool chairs.
"But you told me before what his appearance was. I should have recognized him!"
"It's fine, Ivy. Even if you did your best to avoid him, he would've found way to hit on you eventually."
Ivy wrinkles her nose at the unfamiliar language. " 'Hit on'? What does that mean?"
"Flirting. Or, for Dunstan, more like a procedure. He's been hitting on any pretty girl he sees ever since he and Melanie broke up. I don't know if he's doing this to make her jealous or what, but it's really annoying."
I look back up to see Ivy go rigid. For some reason she looks classically surprised; her hand is over her mouth, and the rosy blush is back with a vengeance,
"Ivy? You okay?"
Ivy removes her hand, muttering something so quietly I can't hear it.
"Sorry?"
"You called me pretty." The moment those words are said, Ivy stares down at her feet as her face gets brighter.
"Well, yeah," I murmur, my face hot. "You really are beautiful tonight, Ivy.”
― Colleen Boyd, Swamp Angel

“Good point." Sophia said at last. "I'm not very good at saying sorry, but I apologize.”
― Chris Kurtz, The Adventures of a South Pole Pig

“I think we each have a certain number of unnecessary apologies, which we willingly dish out before we realize it's time to stand and fight. I may still have two or three left.”
― Joyce Rachelle

“If someone has the courage to admit they were wrong, you should have the grace to give them credit for admitting it. Rubbing it in encourages them to never admit being wrong again.”
― James Clear

“Sometimes in life, you make a mistake and there’s no buts and no explanations … There’s no peace in ‘I’m sorry, but.’ You can’t find peace until you truly understand that the only thing to say is, ‘I’m sorry,’ period. ~ John Lucas, as quoted in ‘The Punch’ by John Feinstein”
― John Feinstein, The Punch: One Night, Two Lives, and the Fight That Changed Basketball Forever

“Why are you here?" she asked.
"I came to apologize," he said. "I was... discourteous yesterday."
"No, you were rude."
"You're right. I'm truly sorry." At her lack of response, Christopher fumbled for words. He, who had once spoken to women so glibly. "I've been too long in rough company. Since I left the Crimea, I find myself reacting irritably without cause. I... words are too important for me to be so careless with them."
Perhaps it was his imagination, but he thought her face softened a little.
"You don't have to be sorry for disliking me," she said. "Only for being discourteous."
"Rude," Christopher corrected. "And I don't."
"You don't what?" she asked with a frown.
"Dislike you. That is... I don't know you well enough to either like or dislike you."
"I'm fairly certain, Captain," she said, "that the more you discover about me, the more you will dislike me. Therefore, let's cut to the chase and acknowledge that we don't like each other. Then we won't have to bother with the in-between part."
She was so bloody frank and practical about the whole thing that Christopher couldn't help but be amused. "I'm afraid I can't oblige you."
"Why not?"
"Because when you said that just now, I found myself starting to like you."
"You'll recover," she said.
Her decisive tone made him want to smile. "It's getting worse, actually," he told her. "Now I'm absolutely convinced that I like you.”
― Lisa Kleypas, Love in the Afternoon

“An apology is only as good as the actions that follow it.”
― Carlos Wallace, Life is not Complicated, You Are

“Sorry, I didn't know..." I trailed off. Shout out to all the girls who apologize too much. I feel you.”
― Emiko Jean, Tokyo Ever After

“You apologize awful quick.”
Quick? He’d had days to think it over. A week full of regret… and wonder. “Only when I know I’m wrong.”
Mrs. Blake shot him a sly grin. “”Guess I see why my granddaughter saw fit not to leave you in the desert.”
― Chandra Blumberg, Stirring Up Love

“إنْ كنت شُجاعًا بما يكفي لتقُل وداعًا بعدما كُنت جالسًا على مقعدٍ عزيزٍ، فلتكن شجاعًا أيضًا بما يكفي للاعتذار والعودة إذا أدركت قيمة هذا المقعد بعد الرّحيل، وعُد إليه قائلًا: "مرحبًا، أعتذر، تنح جانبًا، أريد الجلوس على مقعدي"، سأقول لك: "تفضّل، إنّه دائمًا مقعدك، وللأبد".”
― حسين علي السنافي

“For those of you well-acquainted with making mistakes, it's more likely that your spouse will stay your best friend as long as the phrase 'I'm Sorry' stays your second.”
― Criss Jami