embrace
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to take or clasp in the arms; press to the bosom; hug.
-
to take or receive gladly or eagerly; accept willingly.
to embrace an idea.
-
to avail oneself of.
to embrace an opportunity.
- Synonyms:
- seize
-
to adopt (a profession, a religion, etc.).
to embrace Buddhism.
-
to take in with the eye or the mind.
-
to encircle; surround; enclose.
a secret garden embraced by wild shrubs.
-
to include or contain.
An encyclopedia embraces a great number of subjects.
- Antonyms:
- exclude
verb (used without object)
noun
verb (used with object)
verb
-
(also intr) (of a person) to take or clasp (another person) in the arms, or (of two people) to clasp each other, as in affection, greeting, etc; hug
-
to accept (an opportunity, challenge, etc) willingly or eagerly
-
to take up (a new idea, faith, etc); adopt
to embrace Judaism
-
to comprise or include as an integral part
geology embraces the science of mineralogy
-
to encircle or enclose
noun
-
the act of embracing
-
euphemistic (often plural) sexual intercourse
verb
Related Words
See include.
Other Word Forms
- embraceable adjective
- embracement noun
- embracer noun
- unembraceable adjective
Etymology
Origin of embrace1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French embracier, equivalent to em- em- 1 + bracier “to embrace,” derivative of brace “the two arms”; brace
Origin of embrace2
First recorded in 1420–1475; late Middle English: “to influence, prejudice, bribe (a jury),” perhaps the same word as embrace 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That matters, because it is often new companies embracing new technologies and figuring out how to use them that propel job creation.
While leaning on the fossil fuel will raise emissions in the near term, the energy crisis is demonstrating the risks of energy import dependence, and could push policymakers to embrace renewables faster, analysts told AFP.
From Barron's
The energy secretary's team look enviously at their popularity in Germany and how Spain is less vulnerable to gas price fluctuations because of its embrace of renewables.
From BBC
Pointing and waving to fans in the nosebleeds, he took time to embrace the moment that topped his previous triumph of performing at Dodger Stadium.
From Los Angeles Times
“While we may not agree with everything America does,” Fouracres’ prime minister says at the end of the cold open, “we can still be civil and embrace their wonderful, unproblematic culture.”
From Los Angeles Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
