apologetical
- adjective
- /əˌpɑːləˈdʒɛtɪkəl/
- Formal
:
apologético
- Meaning, in the upmarket sense of "The Meaning of Life" or "The Meaning of Existence" — the "Meaning" of Suffering, or Evil, or Chance, or Order — has been a staple of scholarly discussion of religion since the eighteenth century when such discussion began to be phrased in empirical rather than apologetical terms.
Examples
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The theologian published an apologetical essay defending the existence of God against modern skepticism.
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In her book, she presented apologetical arguments that sought to justify her religious beliefs logically.
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The apologetical nature of his writings aimed to address the criticisms posed by atheists and agnostics.
Surface Forms
Morphology
apologetical = apologetic (semi-transparent) = apology + etic + al
Morphologically clear but the sense 'relating to formal apologetics (defense of religious/philosophical belief)' is domain-specific and may not be obvious to general learners.
Etymology
Apologetical comes from Greek parts apo- ('away') and logos ('speech'), which gave the idea of 'a speech in defense'. That's why an apologetical essay or lecture aims to carefully defend a religion or idea against criticism.
