as in embracing
to take for one's own use (something originated by another)
shortly after moving to the U.S., the family dutifully adopted the American tradition of having turkey for Thanksgiving
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Recent Examples of adopting
To address its funding shortfall, the county is proposing eliminating hundreds of positions and adopting a series of measures that the county asserts will reduce costs and improve efficiency.
—
Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 2 May 2026
Elderly people may think twice about adopting dogs that have the potential to live much longer.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026
The area has dramatically reduced water use by targeting the removal of water-guzzling lawns and adopting other water-saving rules.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
Both chambers took the first step toward crafting the reconciliation package this week, adopting a budget plan that instructs the relevant committees to write legislation to fund the immigration agencies.
—Stefan Becket, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Erdoğan first emerged during the post-Cold War decade of unipolar, American triumph, adopting the language of free markets, liberalism, and human rights, and stretched those politics of optimism into the brief euphoria of the Obama years.
—Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
The House voted 83-28 to approve the same legislation, adopting it hours earlier after limited debate.
—Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026
Controversial definition Hank Stern, who is responsible for drafting IHRA’s definition, has warned against adopting it in anti-discrimination laws.
—Jack Harvel
april 29, Kansas City Star, 29 Apr. 2026
Bubbles Didn’t Enter The Picture That Early In one of the moist unintentionally hilarious moments in the movie, Michael shocks his family by adopting a CGI baby chimpanzee named Bubbles sometime around 1979.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2026
Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 2 May 2026
Elderly people may think twice about adopting dogs that have the potential to live much longer.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 2 May 2026
The area has dramatically reduced water use by targeting the removal of water-guzzling lawns and adopting other water-saving rules.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 2 May 2026
Both chambers took the first step toward crafting the reconciliation package this week, adopting a budget plan that instructs the relevant committees to write legislation to fund the immigration agencies.
—Stefan Becket, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Erdoğan first emerged during the post-Cold War decade of unipolar, American triumph, adopting the language of free markets, liberalism, and human rights, and stretched those politics of optimism into the brief euphoria of the Obama years.
—Literary Hub, 29 Apr. 2026
The House voted 83-28 to approve the same legislation, adopting it hours earlier after limited debate.
—Jeffrey Schweers, The Orlando Sentinel, 29 Apr. 2026
Controversial definition Hank Stern, who is responsible for drafting IHRA’s definition, has warned against adopting it in anti-discrimination laws.
—Jack Harvel
april 29, Kansas City Star, 29 Apr. 2026
Bubbles Didn’t Enter The Picture That Early In one of the moist unintentionally hilarious moments in the movie, Michael shocks his family by adopting a CGI baby chimpanzee named Bubbles sometime around 1979.
—Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 25 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for adopting
Verb
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So the big production rewrite was embracing Australia, not as some post-apocalyptic Mad Max hellscape, but Australia for Australia.—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
30 Apr. 2026
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The Victory Tour marked the only time all six brothers — Michael, Jermaine, Randy, Tito, Marlon and Jackie — went on tour together and was also the last time Michael performed with them before fully embracing his solo career.—
PEOPLE,
PEOPLE,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Big tech companies are competing for dominance in artificial intelligence, borrowing to build data centers and other infrastructure.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2026
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The utility business model involves borrowing substantial sums to invest in networks and later recovering costs from customers.—
Edmund H. Mahony,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Adopting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/adopting. Accessed 5 May. 2026.
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