espousal
Americannoun
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adoption or advocacy, as of a cause or principle.
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Sometimes espousals.
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a marriage ceremony.
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an engagement or betrothal celebration.
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noun
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adoption or support
an espousal of new beliefs
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archaic (sometimes plural) a marriage or betrothal ceremony
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of espousal
1275–1325; Middle English espousaille < Middle French, Old French espousailles < Latin spōnsālia (noun use of neuter plural of spōnsālis ), equivalent to spōns ( us ) spouse + -ālia -al 2
Explanation
When you speak up in favor of something or support a cause, that's espousal. Your espousal of energy conservation can be seen in your electric car and the solar panels on your house. Espousal of one political candidate over another can be expressed with a sign in your yard or a big financial contribution to the campaign. During a debate, each person adopts the espousal of one strong viewpoint and then they argue with each other. In the old days, an espousal was an engagement or a wedding — gaining a spouse, in other words. This is the original meaning, with the figurative "married to principles" definition dating from about 1670.
Vocabulary lists containing espousal
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.
“This repertoire — with its contrapuntal extravaganzas, its antiphonal balances, its espousal of instruments that chuff and wheeze and speak directly to a microphone — was made for stereo,” he wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
As Travis Adkins and Judd Devermont recently pointed out in Foreign Policy, Cold Warriors both Black and White were painfully aware of the contradictions of their ringing espousal of freedom.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 3, 2020
In our book “Queer Wars,” Jon Symons and I traced the current backlash back to the espousal of “Asian values” by Singapore’s Lee Kwan Yew and Malaysia’s Mohammed Mahathir in the early 1990s.
From Salon ● Sep. 29, 2016
Typically the schools honored Mr. Cosby for his success as an entertainer, as well as his pronounced support for education and his espousal of the sort of bootstraps perseverance that would serve young graduates well.
From New York Times ● Oct. 6, 2015
His espousal of the cause of the enemies of Virginia made the planters regard him as a traitor.
From Virginia under the Stuarts 1607-1688 by Thomas Jefferson Wertenbaker
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.
