apostrofar

A literary/rhetorical term: to apostrophize — to address, often dramatically, someone or something absent, dead, or personified, as a rhetorical device (a poet apostrophizing death or the sea). Also, less formally, to reprimand someone harshly and directly.

• En el poema, el autor apostrofa a la muerte directamente. — In the poem, the author apostrophizes death directly.
• El entrenador apostrofó al árbitro tras la decisión. — The coach harshly rebuked the referee after the decision.
• Los oradores clásicos apostrofaban a la patria o a los dioses. — Classical orators apostrophized the homeland or the gods.

Confusing this with the punctuation mark 'apóstrofo' (apostrophe, the ' symbol) — apostrofar is a verb about rhetorical address or harsh rebuke, unrelated to punctuation.