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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.”
Examples of espouse in a Sentence
Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 13 June 2025
However, some of the new members have previously espoused anti-vaccine sentiments, especially around COVID-19 vaccines and mRNA technology.
—Youri Benadjaoud, ABC News, 11 June 2025
Another hurdle is getting buy-in from red states, where many politicians have espoused the view that hate crimes and domestic terrorism concerns are exaggerated by liberals to police conservative thought.
—Hannah Allam, ProPublica, 31 May 2025
In 2016 the pair released some in-progress footage from the film, in which Ophuls journeys to Tel Aviv in the midst of the war to interview Israelis, including West Bank settler leaders, and other pro-Israel visitors who espouse racist views on camera.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 27 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for espouse
Cite this Entry
“Espouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/espouse. Accessed 23 Jun. 2025.
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