espouse
7 synonyms and 3 antonyms for espouse, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Verb — To adopt a belief, cause or way of life and openly support it.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. verb
To adopt a belief, cause or way of life and openly support it.
“The party espoused free trade long before it became popular.”
Opposites
How to use espouse
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
Formal, mostly written. Very common in political and academic prose; you would rarely say it in conversation.
Etymology
From Old French espouser, from Latin sponsare 'to betroth', from spondere 'to promise'. The sense of committing oneself to a cause grew out of the older sense of committing oneself in marriage.
Full origin of espouse →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between espouse and endorse?
To espouse a view is to take it on as your own and argue for it over time. To endorse something is to give it your public approval, often briefly and often for someone else's benefit, as when a celebrity endorses a brand. Espousing implies belief; endorsing only implies backing.
Is espouse related to spouse?
Yes, directly. Both go back to Latin spondere 'to promise' by way of the word for a betrothed person, and espouse originally meant to marry. The modern meaning keeps the idea of a binding public commitment, transferred from a person to a cause.
Can you espouse a person?
Only in the old marriage sense, which now reads as deliberately archaic. In current English the object of espouse is an idea, doctrine, principle or cause.