embrace
- 01 B1 Intermediate
v.to hold someone close in your arms to show love or friendship.
v.to clasp another person in the arms as a gesture of affection or greeting. Transitive; requires a direct object.
Simple“The two friends embraced warmly when they met at the airport.”
In context“Upon his return from the long voyage, he embraced his daughter with a mixture of relief and exhaustion.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to eagerly accept a new idea, opinion, or way of life.
v.to adopt or support a belief, theory, or change willingly and enthusiastically.
Simple“Many companies are starting to embrace remote work for their employees.”
In context“The local community has slowly begun to embrace sustainable energy solutions as the benefits to the environment become more apparent.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
v.to include or contain a number of different things.
v.to include or contain as a constituent part; to encompass a variety of elements.
Simple“The new law embraces several different areas of medical research.”
In context“The report embraces a wide range of opinions from both the public and private sectors regarding urban development.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.the act of holding someone closely in your arms.
n.the act of enfolding someone in the arms; a physical hug.
Simple“They held each other in a long embrace before saying goodbye.”
In context“The mother held the child in a protective embrace as the thunder crashed outside the window.”
- 05 C1 Advanced
n.the act of accepting or supporting something completely.
n.the complete acceptance or enthusiastic adoption of a concept, movement, or technology.
Simple“The public's embrace of the new technology was faster than expected.”
In context“The sudden embrace of radical economic reforms led to significant social upheaval within the decade.”
Synonyms
“Once they decided to vacation in Atlantic Canada, Kent Truscott and his wife embraced the idea of discovering their own country.”
“Since the 16th century, when Copernicus showed that Earth is not the centre of the cosmos, modern science had learned to embrace the idea that there is nothing unique about our planet.”
The verb is derived from Middle English embracen (“to clasp in one's arms, embrace; to reach out eagerly for, welcome; to enfold, entwine; to ensnare, entangle; to twist, wrap around; to gird, put on; to lace; to be in or put into bonds; to put a shield on the arm; to grasp (a shield or spear); to acquire, take hold of; to receive; to undertake; to affect, influence; to incite; to unlawfully influence a jury; to surround; to conceal, cover; to shelter; to protect; to comfort; to comprehend, understand”) [and other forms], from Old French embracer, embracier (“to kiss”) (modern French embrasser (“to kiss; (dated) to embrace, hug”)), from Late Latin *imbracchiāre, from in- (prefix meaning ‘in, inside, within’)) + bracchium (“arm”). The English word is analysable as em- + brace. The noun is derived from the verb.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.