Questions about example sentences with, and the definition and usage of "Sorry"

Synonyms of "Sorry" and their differences

Q: What is the difference between I'm sorry about earlier. and I'm sorry for earlier. ?
A: There's very little difference actually. They can usually both be used interchangeably. I guess the only nuance I can nitpick about here is that one of them might be used more often for apologizing for one's own actions, and the other for other peoples actions/on behalf of other people.

This is probably because of what goes unsaid, but is implied in these expressions, i.e.

1. "I'm sorry about (what happened) earlier."
(The speaker could be apologizing for a friend/family member who he witnessed being rude to the listener earlier. Granted, you he could also use, "I'm sorry for earlier.", but in this case I think "about earlier" would be more common.)

2. "I'm sorry for (what I did/said/what happened) earlier."
(The speaker is more likely apologizing for something he/she did personally.)

You'll notice that in the second sentence, the speaker could also be apologizing "for" "what happened" earlier; and as I'm writing this now, I've noticed that in the first sentence the speaker could also be "sorry about" what he/she "said or did" earlier; but if I was asked on the spot to just fill in the unsaid lines in both of those sentences off the top of my head, I would say, ”…about what happened…" and "…for what I said/did…"

So, I guess the gist of it is that "about" tends to be used more for apologizing for "events" (something that happened, someone else's actions,), and "for" is used more for apologizing for specific actions. (Something said, or a specific something done.) But again, I think the last paragraph just goes to show that it hardly makes any difference to a native speaker; so feel free to use them interchangeably! No one's going to look at you funny for using one over the other!

Hope this helped! (^-^ )

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