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
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Recent Examples of espousing
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
The mom recalls her as a former student espousing a radical totalitarian ideology, and the new girlfriend begins to build a powerful following, tearing apart the family from within.
—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
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
The mom recalls her as a former student espousing a radical totalitarian ideology, and the new girlfriend begins to build a powerful following, tearing apart the family from within.
—
Brian Truitt,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for espousing
Verb
-
Rumors have swirled for weeks that the pair are marrying on July 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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Once again, Ryder interrupts the pair and ultimately forces Tom to believe that Mary would be better off marrying Ryder, who has recently come into quite a fortune.
Verb
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African and Caribbean leaders are demanding financial compensation, debt cancellation and formal apologies from countries that benefited from the transatlantic slave trade after adopting a sweeping reparations plan at a conference in Ghana.
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Underestimating Potential Cyber Threats The primary risk leaders should evaluate when adopting alternative banking platforms is fraud, particularly as AI becomes more advanced.
Verb
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Well, Jalen Brunson grew up in Chicago, and New Yorkers have no trouble embracing him.
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Businesses across the city are embracing the tournament as well, vying for a piece of the roughly $17 million the city expects to haul in.
Verb
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That limited graduate nursing students to borrowing $20,500 a year, while students in clinical psychology, optometry and podiatry, as well as medicine, dentistry and law, could borrow $50,000.
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That includes sweeping hundreds of millions of dollars out of special taxing districts, borrowing to pay for legal settlements and retroactive pay bumps, and diverting pandemic relief money away from programs and toward payroll instead.
Cite this Entry
“Espousing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/espousing. Accessed 28 Jun. 2026.
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