espoused 1 of 2

adjective

as in married

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espoused

2 of 2

verb

past tense of espouse
1
as in matched
to give in marriage a couple eager to espouse their eldest daughter

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2
as in wedded
to take as a spouse heeded his father's advice to espouse someone with whom he had common interests

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3
as in borrowed
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of espoused
Adjective
The president can scarcely complain about the FBI wasting its time when Patel espoused conspiracy theories before his appointment, and when agents have been reinvestigating (yet again) the 2020 election results in Georgia. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 15 July 2026 Notably, though, many Americans—regardless of party—espoused evolving views on the nature of America’s relationships with China, Canada and Mexico, its top three trading partners. — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 3 Apr. 2026
Verb
In these moments and others, HOTD has sometimes espoused a form of gender essentialism that suggests Rhaenyra and Alicent are both inherently kinder and better than the men around them. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026 It is often espoused in this newsletter that virtually every starting pitcher in the major leagues is capable of the kind of excellence Bratt exhibited. — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Aug. 2026 The whole point of originalism, as espoused by the late Justice Antonin Scalia and (in theory) the court’s current conservatives, is that the meaning of the Constitution depends on what the public thought its words meant when it was ratified. — Noah Feldman, Mercury News, 14 July 2026 Compared with protein, which lends itself to narratives of growth—more grams, more gains—fibre is a bit of a hard sell, likelier to be espoused by women in sensible shoes than by fitness junkies on Twitch. — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 29 June 2026 Originally then, a ‘cynic’ is simply someone who espoused the teachings of Antisthenes. — Theodore McDarrah, Forbes.com, 26 June 2026 Iran’s new leadership also wanted to demonstrate that the more cautious policies espoused by the previous supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on the first day of the war, were no longer in play, Vakil added. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026 Inside Hawley’s stance Hawley’s predictions of the dangers of AI to American workers come as the Missouri Republican has, over the last several years, attempted to stake out pro-worker stances and eschew the traditional, business friendly positions espoused by some Republicans. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 9 June 2026 The encyclical rejects two philosophies espoused by some in Silicon Valley—transhumanism and posthumanism—that see technology as a means to augment or perfect people. — Francis X. Rocca, The Atlantic, 25 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for espoused
  1. married
  2. borrowed
  3. matched
  4. adopted
  5. conjugal
  6. embraced
  7. marital
Adjective
  • That perspective has also informed how Gerber has approached working with Gere, the son of veteran actor Richard Gere, who was married to Crawford from 1991 to 1995.
    — Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Patrick and Lindsay Clancy were married at the time of their children's deaths, but have since divorced and Patrick is now married to another woman.
    — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of married
Verb
  • When Liverpool borrowed him from Paris Saint-Germain in December 2001 following the departure of fan-favourite striker Robbie Fowler, there were questions about his character and attitude after previous spells at Arsenal and Real Madrid.
    — Gregg Evans, New York Times, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The party responsible for repayment generally depends on when the debt was incurred, who borrowed the money, the type of account and applicable state law.
    — Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of borrowed
Adjective
  • Put pre-matched outfits on the same hanger.
    — Brandi Jones, Health, 25 Feb. 2026
Definition of matched
Verb
  • About one third of its customers had adopted that safeguard, which will now become mandatory by year’s end.
    — Soo Youn, ABC News, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Dozens of developing and emerging-market countries adopted nearly 200 emergency measures, including conservation mandates, fuel subsidies to tax suspensions, and emergency efforts to secure alternative supplies.
    — Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of adopted
Adjective
  • Composed at Rose’s prompting and anticipating Flanagan’s extraordinary Pain Journal, the volume is so direct in its account of the couple’s conjugal life that the Indian authorities tossed its original print run into the ocean before the books could ship from Chennai to New York.
    — Diana Arterian, Literary Hub, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Shortly after spurning his conjugal love tent vehicle, Colby received a call from Pontiac with a proposition.
    — EW.com, EW.com, 13 Aug. 2025
Definition of conjugal
Verb
  • Its popularity waned in the 1960s but contemporary filmmakers such as Brady Corbet, Yorgos Lanthimos and Paul Thomas Anderson have embraced the format.
    — Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • After all, the records have always been set by humans who embraced better tools.
    — Ruba Borno, Fortune, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of embraced
Adjective
  • The rare interview comes a few months after reports of marital strife between Edo and Beatrice, 37, who tied the knot in 2020.
    — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 7 Aug. 2026
  • The bottom line Most married couples don’t think about marital property until a major life event forces the issue.
    — Miranda Marquit, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of marital

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Cite this Entry

“Espoused.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/espoused. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of espoused for Spanish Speakers

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