espouse

1 to give in marriage <a couple eager to espouse their eldest daughter> Synonyms marry, match, wedRelated Words commit, engage; affiance, betroth, pledge, promise

2 to take as a spouse <heeded his father's advice to espouse someone with whom he had common interests> Synonyms marry, wedRelated Words affiance, betroth, commit, engage, pledge, promise, propose; remarryNear Antonyms separate (from)Antonyms divorce

3 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 borrow, embrace, adopt, take on, take upRelated Words domesticate, naturalize; appropriate, arrogate, take over, usurp; absorb, assimilate, incorporate, quote; cherish, prize, treasure; cultivate, follow, heed, honor; use, utilize; bring up, foster, nurture, raise, rear; affect, assume, copy, imitate, pretend, put on, simulateNear Antonyms abandon, forsake, give up, relinquish, surrender; abjure, abnegate, disown; reject, renounce, repudiate, spurn; discard, jettison, junk, throw away, throw out