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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
Julia Preston, Foreign Affairs, 25 Oct. 2024
The output of a platform tells you what it is designed to do: In X’s case, all of this is proof of a system engineered to give voice to hateful ideas and reward those who espouse them.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024
Philippi allegedly repeatedly espoused his adherence to white supremacist and accelerationist ideologies which promote the idea that a destabilizing terrorist attack on something like the nation's energy sectors could serve to incite unrest that leads to civil war, according to prosecutors.
—Alexander Mallin, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2024
Altman, the former executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Party, is running on a platform that espouses women's and reproductive rights, safeguarding democratic institutions and asserting America’s leadership on the world stage.
—USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2024
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Dictionary Entries Near espouse
Cite this Entry
“Espouse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/espouse. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
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