espouse

verb

es·​pouse i-ˈspau̇z 

 also  -ˈspau̇s

espoused; espousing

transitive verb

1

: marry

2

: to take up and support as a cause : become attached to

espouser noun

Did you know?

Commit to Learning the History of Espouse

As you might guess, the words espouse and spouse are hitched, both coming from the Latin verb spondēre, meaning “to promise” or “to betroth.” In fact, the two were once completely interchangeable, with each serving as a noun meaning “a newly married person” or “a husband or wife” and also as a verb meaning “to marry.” Their semantic separation began when the noun espouse fell out of use. Nowadays, espouse is most often encountered as a verb used in the figuratively extended sense “to commit to and support as a cause.”

Synonyms

• marry
• match
• wed

Choose the Right Synonym for espouse

adopt, embrace, espouse mean to take an opinion, policy, or practice as one's own.

adopt implies accepting something created by another or foreign to one's nature.

forced to adopt new policies

embrace implies a ready or happy acceptance.

embraced the customs of their new homeland

espouse adds an implication of close attachment to a cause and a sharing of its fortunes.

espoused the cause of women's rights

Examples of espouse in a Sentence

The new theory has been espoused by many leading physicists.

Those espousing unpopular views were often excluded.

Recent Examples on the Web

Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right French leader who espoused racist and antisemitic rhetoric and was convicted of Holocaust denial, has died at 96. —Philissa Cramer, Sun Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2025

Former vice president shared a cryptic tweet espousing the merits of humility ahead of the Capitol riot anniversary. —Hugh Cameron, Newsweek, 6 Jan. 2025

The data also shows that QAnon believers are more likely to be evangelical Christians, and those who espouse Christian nationalist views are about three times more likely to embrace QAnon beliefs than those who reject or are skeptical of Christian nationalism. —David Gilbert, WIRED, 23 Dec. 2024

This leaves immigrant rights groups, immigration attorneys and undocumented immigrants in those states in a difficult position: gearing up to fight upcoming immigration policies espoused by Trump, supported by a majority of voters in their region. —Morgan Radford, NBC News, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French espuser, from Late Latin sponsare to betroth, from Latin sponsus betrothed — more at spouse

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

espouse

verb

es·​pouse is-ˈpau̇z 

-ˈpau̇s

espoused; espousing

1

a

: marry entry 1 sense 2

b

: marry entry 1 sense 3

2

: to take up the cause of : support

espouser noun