Synonyms of espouse

espouse

verb

i-ˈspau̇z 

1

as in to marry

to give in marriage

a couple eager to espouse their eldest daughter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• marry
• match
• wed
• engage
• commit
• promise
• pledge
• affiance
• betroth

2

as in to propose

to take as a spouse

heeded his father's advice to espouse someone with whom he had common interests

Synonyms & Similar Words

• marry
• propose
• wed
• engage
• promise
• commit
• pledge
• affiance
• remarry
• betroth

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• separate (from)
• divorce

3

as in to adopt

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

• adopt
• embrace
• borrow
• cultivate
• take up
• assimilate
• follow
• utilize
• take on
• incorporate
• use
• imitate
• pick up on
• usurp
• cherish
• absorb
• take over
• honor
• copy
• appropriate
• foster
• pretend
• heed
• assume
• arrogate
• treasure
• domesticate
• naturalize
• quote
• simulate
• raise
• nurture
• affect
• prize
• put on
• bring up
• rear

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• abandon
• relinquish
• forsake
• surrender
• give up
• reject
• renounce
• abjure
• disown
• repudiate
• spurn
• discard
• jettison
• throw away
• throw out
• abnegate
• junk

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb espouse differ from other similar words?

The words adopt and embrace are common synonyms of espouse. While all three words mean "to take an opinion, policy, or practice as one's own," espouse adds an implication of close attachment to a cause and a sharing of its fortunes.

espoused the cause of women's rights

In what contexts can adopt take the place of espouse?

The words adopt and espouse are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, adopt implies accepting something created by another or foreign to one's nature.

forced to adopt new policies

When might embrace be a better fit than espouse?

The synonyms embrace and espouse are sometimes interchangeable, but embrace implies a ready or happy acceptance.

embraced the customs of their new homeland

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of espouse

And beyond the attacks on people of the Jewish faith, researchers have noted with alarm growing waves of public support for violence aimed at those who espouse ideas seen by some as dangerous. —Sophie Hills, Christian Science Monitor, 4 June 2025

How things have changed: My interlocutor was one member of a large and diverse constituency of urban sophisticates who espouse comparable positions, not infrequently in the same gratingly defiant terms. —Ian Volner, Artforum, 28 May 2025

Having grown up working-class in New York and come to politics partly through Black liberation, Selma James espoused a more inclusive and more intuitive feminism than that of many of her white, middle-class peers. —Lily Meyer, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025

The resentments of immigrant landlords illustrate a broader paradox of current city politics: older immigrant communities, often inherently sympathetic to the challenges faced by new arrivals, are increasingly voting for politicians who espouse broadly anti-immigrant policies. —Jordan Salama, New Yorker, 5 May 2025

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