1. (n.) A figure of speech by which the orator or writer suddenly breaks off from the previous method of his discourse, and addresses, in the second person, some person or thing, absent or present; as, Milton's apostrophe to Light at the beginning of the third book of Paradise Lost.

2. (n.) The contraction of a word by the omission of a letter or letters, which omission is marked by the character ['] placed where the letter or letters would have been; as, call'd for called.

3. (n.) The mark ['] used to denote that a word is contracted (as in ne'er for never, can't for can not), and as a sign of the possessive, singular and plural; as, a boy's hat, boys' hats. In the latter use it originally marked the omission of the letter e.

Parthian shot abiding place ability abode accost action actions activity acts address adduce adeptness adroitness advance affability affectation affirmation after-dinner speech aim air airmanship allegation allege allocution angle for animadvert answer apostrophe apostrophize appeal to application apply apply to approach artfulness artisanship artistry asking assertion associate attend averment bearing beau behavior behavior pattern behavioral norm behavioral science bend bespeak bid for bid good day bid good morning billhead bob bow bow to bravura brilliance buckle down buttonhole call to cantonment canvass capability capacity carriage cast chalk talk chase cite cleverness command comment commentate competence comportment conduct connect consign control converse coordination couple court crack craft craftsmanship crash pad crib culture pattern cunning curtsy custom debate declamation declaration deftness deliver an address demand demeanor deportment desire destination devote dexterity dexterousness dextrousness diatribe dictum diplomacy direct direction discourse dispatch document doing doings domicile domus dwelling dwelling place ease efficiency embrace escort esquire eulogy exchange greetings exclamation exemplify exhortation expertise expressed desire expression facility filibuster finesse fish for folkway follow forensic forensic address formal speech forward funeral oration gestures give give a talk goings-on grace graciousness greet greeting grip guise habitation hail halloo hand-clasp handiness handshake harangue hello horsemanship hortatory address how-do-you-do hug illustrate impetration inaugural inaugural address incline indent ingeniousness ingenuity interjection invective invoke jeremiad kiss kiss hands know-how lay lay siege to lecture letterhead level lift the hat link location lodging lodging place lodgment look for maintien make suit to make up to manner manners marksmanship mastership mastery memorialize mention method methodology methods mien modus vivendi motions movements moves name and address neck nest nod nod to note observable behavior observation offer oration pad pattern pay addresses to pay attention to pay court to pep talk peroration pet petition philippic phrase pitch place place to live platform point poise pop the question port pose position postal zone posture practical ability practice praxis prefer prelect prepared speech prepared text presence