espousing

verb

present participle of espouse
1
as in marrying
to give in marriage a couple eager to espouse their eldest daughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in proposing
to take as a spouse heeded his father's advice to espouse someone with whom he had common interests

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in adopting
to take for one's own use (something originated by another) after working among them for two years in the Peace Corps, she felt compelled to espouse the peasants' cause for social justice

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of espousing At the time, neighbors like Cooke thought the policy was meant to deter flags showing support for sports teams or espousing political views. — Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026 Trump’s backers continued to complain about the touchscreen voting machines, with some loyalists espousing wild conspiracy theories. — Kate Brumback, Chicago Tribune, 14 June 2026 The writings are filled with extremist material espousing anti-Islamic, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ views. — Tom Winter, NBC news, 19 May 2026 And repetition – espousing the same ideas again and again – was an effective tactic. — Yu-Ru Lin, The Conversation, 7 May 2026 The casting has always managed to feel diverse, but in a guileless, incidental way, giving the appearance of multicultural inclusion without espousing any explicitly progressive viewpoints. — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 29 Apr. 2026 Campa-Najjar’s journey from espousing progressive positions to conservative ones and back again has required him to do a lot of explaining in recent years. — Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026 However, the two political figures have also found common ground on the issue of affordability, with the president espousing a surprisingly positive tone about the mayor during the pair’s first Oval Office meeting last November. — Sarah Davis, The Hill, 17 Apr. 2026 Presumably, this presented Hulu with its clearest, cleanest path to finally getting past the Whedon mess that had cast a shadow over the franchise espousing female empowerment. — Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for espousing
  1. marrying
  2. adopting
  3. embracing
  4. borrowing
Verb
  • Of course, happier milestones also added perspective, especially when Yorn became a husband, marrying wife Beth in 2010, and then a father to 10-year-old Ellington Bee a few years later.
    — Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 23 July 2026
  • Well, at the end of season 1, Nathan ends up marrying Lucas’ best friend, Haley James (Bethany Joy Lenz).
    — Brianna Zigler, Entertainment Weekly, 23 July 2026
Definition of marrying
Verb
  • For Toyota, maintaining leadership may require adopting faster decision-making, shorter development cycles and greater organisational flexibility.
    — Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026
  • The summer of soccer continues — that is the tagline Wrexham are adopting for a tour to build on the men’s World Cup, as well as the club’s strong North American links.
    — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 24 July 2026
Definition of adopting
Verb
  • Pettett is among a growing number of older adults embracing tattoos later in life.
    — Rachel Brown Kirkland, AJC.com, 30 July 2026
  • But customers aren’t embracing the machines nearly as quickly as restaurants are deploying them.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 30 July 2026
Definition of embracing
Verb
  • Twain wrote or co-wrote the majority of the album, borrowing heavily from country, blues, gospel, soul, and rock—textures better suited to her lower register than the pop stylings of her last two releases.
    — Amanda Wicks, Pitchfork, 25 July 2026
  • Berman also pressed his advantage as a first mover, borrowing capital from large financial firms that wanted to get into the market.
    — Andrew Rice, Curbed, 23 July 2026
Definition of borrowing

Browse Nearby Words

espouses
espousing
esprit
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Espousing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/espousing. Accessed 1 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on espousing

Nglish: Translation of espousing for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of spindrift

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

The Words of the Week - Jul. 31

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Dutch Treat and French Leave: Eight Place-Based Compounds

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
asap street sign
Figure Out These Acronyms ASAP You don't have to be a NASA engineer to get these...
See All