9 Better Ways to Say "Please Accept My Apologies" (2024)

When you want to apologize to someone, there are many choices in formal English. “Please accept my apologies” is one such choice from a long list of apologies. This article will explore some of the best synonyms you can use in place of this phrase.

The preferred alternatives are “my sincerest apologies,” “I hope you can forgive me,” and “can you forgive me?” These phrases work well to show that you’re sorry about something. They often beg the other party to forgive you when you realize you’ve done something wrong.

My Sincerest Apologies

“My sincerest apologies” is a great choice in formal writing. It works well as an alternative because it uses “sincerest” to modify “apologies.” This implies that you’re apologizing to the most “sincere” level that you can (meaning you can’t be more sorry).

It’s a great phrase that comes up very often. You’ll find that it works really well in many formal situations. It’s a good one to use when you’re not sure about what else might fix the issues you’re having with somebody.

• Please accept my sincerest apologies. I do not know what came over me, and I won’t let that happen again.
• My sincerest apologies go to you, of course. I’m not sure why I said those terrible things. They won’t be repeated.
• You have my sincerest apologies. I don’t know how that information managed to get out. I hope you can overlook this issue.

I Hope You Can Forgive Me

“I hope you can forgive me” is another great synonym. This one works to show that you’re hoping that someone will overlook your error. It shows that you value your connection or friendship with that person, even if you’ve done something really bad.

Let’s imagine that you’ve really upset your friend. You’ve upset them so much that you’re worried it might ruin your friendship. That’s where using something like “I hope you can forgive me” works well.

It allows you to look to the future. While they might not forgive you straight away, it gives them time to process whatever happened to forgive you later.

• I hope you can forgive me for my shortcomings. I have not managed to make you feel very welcome at this time.
• I hope you can forgive me. I don’t know how it came to be as it is, but I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.
• I hope you will be able to forgive me. I made a simple mistake, but I believe that it can be corrected with a little bit of know-how.

Can You Forgive Me?

“Can you forgive me?” is another great choice. This one comes in the form of a question rather than a statement. You can use it to show that you are looking for someone’s forgiveness.

Asking this question shows that you want someone to forgive you. Everyone makes mistakes, and you want them to understand that they mean a lot to you, and you would appreciate their forgiveness.

• Can you forgive me? I won’t make that mistake again. You have my word that I’ll try much harder next time.
• Can you forgive me, though? I know you’re mad at me at the moment, but I would really like for us to try this again sometime.
• Can you forgive me? I don’t want there to be any bad blood between us. I feel like we should be stronger than that.

I’m Very Sorry About That

“I’m very sorry about that” is one of the simplest statements you can use. “Very sorry” is a modified apology that shows you regret your actions and wish they didn’t have to go down the way they did.

It’s a great phrase that opens up a lot for the person you’re speaking to. It shows that you care deeply, and you hope they won’t think too much about whatever you did wrong.

• I’m very sorry about that. It was never my intention to hurt you in any way. I just hope you can understand that.
• I’m very sorry about all of this. I wasn’t sure how to handle the situation, and I definitely ended up making things worse.
• Of course, I’m very sorry about that. I’ll be sure to let my colleagues know that their behavior will not be tolerated.

I Hope We Can Look Past This

“I hope we can look past this” is a great apology that shows that both parties might have been in the wrong. Here, “we” is used to show that you are sorry, but you also believe the other party had a part to play in the error.

It’s a good phrase to show someone that you accept and appreciate your mistake. It allows them to decide for themselves whether they’re willing to forgive you yet.

• I hope we can look past this. If there’s one thing I don’t want, it’s for you to be thinking about this for years to come.
• I hope we can look past this. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. It wasn’t meant in a malicious way at all.
• I hope we can look past this together. It’s best if we accept each other’s apologies and move on to the next chapter.

My Humblest Apologies

“My humblest apologies” is another great modification of “apologies.” You can use this one to show that you’re sorry something had to happen the way that it did. “Humblest” means that you regret what you did and wish it didn’t reflect negatively on your character.

“Humblest” implies that you have been “humbled” by your mistake. It shows the person you’re apologizing to that you understand and accept your error.

After using a phrase like this, you should do whatever you can to remedy the problem. You might have a lot of making up to do, but it’s good that you’ve started to accept that you were at fault.

• My humblest apologies, sir. I never meant for anybody to get hurt the way they did. It is such a shame that things had to go down this route.
• My humblest apologies. I’m not sure how this information got out. I certainly didn’t have anything to do with it.
• My humblest apologies, friend. I’ll be sure to keep you in mind should an opportunity like this present itself to me again.

It Was Not My Intention

“It was not my intention” shows that you know you hurt someone. When something is not your “intention,” it means you never meant for things to happen in the way they did.

While this phrase isn’t a direct apology, it works well to claim responsibility for what happened. If you’ve upset or offended someone based on miscommunication or a mistake, a phrase like this might work really well for you.

• It was not my intention, and I hope we can remain friends. I did not wish harm on your or anyone that you’re close with.
• It was not my intention to hurt you or deceive you. I only wanted to tell you the truth about what was going on.
• It was not my intention to say those things. It’s such a shame you found out that way. I only wish you could forgive me.

I Didn’t Mean To Upset You

“I didn’t mean to upset you” is another great alternative. It shows that it was never your intention to upset someone or say (or do) something that hurt another person. “I didn’t mean” is a simpler way of saying “it was not my intention.”

You can use this to show that you’re sorry without saying it directly. It lets someone know that you care, and you hope that they’ll be able to look past your mistake once things cool down a bit.

• I didn’t mean to upset you with what I said. Is there anything that I can do to make things up to you?
• I didn’t mean to upset you. Of course, I’ll do what I can to try and remedy this situation. It’s only fair that you give me that chance.
• I didn’t mean to upset you at all. I didn’t realize what I was saying until it was too late. I do apologize.

Please Know That I’m Very Sorry

“Please know that I’m very sorry” is a decent choice for many situations. Starting the phrase with “please” is key here. It shows that you’re desperate for someone to forgive you, and you really didn’t mean for them to be in pain.

“Know that I’m very sorry” shows that you are sorry. They might not realize it at first, but with enough time, they should be able to overlook whatever you did.

• Please know that I’m very sorry. I did everything in my power to try and turn around the outcome. It wasn’t enough.
• Please, just know that I’m very sorry. It was never my intention to hurt anybody involved in this situation.
• Please know that I’m very sorry. I hope you can accept my sincerest apologies. I’ll pay for any of the damages caused by this.