embrace

/ɛmˈbreɪs/

/ɛmˈbreɪs/

Other forms: embraced; embracing; embraces

To embrace something is to welcome it with open arms, hold, hug, accept completely. You might embrace your sweetheart, or even changes in technology.

Embrace is from the French verb embrasser, which started out meaning "to clasp in the arms" (but now includes kissing). You embrace someone by giving her a giant hug, and when you embrace a new idea, it's like your brain gives it a hug. The noun and verb form are similar: If you embrace someone who isn't your sweetheart, you might get caught in an embrace. In Henry IV, Shakespeare writes about a really, really tight embrace: "I will embrace him with a soldier's arm/That he shall shrink under my courtesy."

Definitions of embrace

1. verb

   squeeze (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness
   “They embraced”

   synonyms: bosom, hug, squeeze

   types:

   clinch

   embrace amorously

   cuddle

   hold (a person or thing) close, as for affection, comfort, or warmth

   interlock, lock

   become engaged or intermeshed with one another

   type of:

   clasp

   hold firmly and tightly
2. noun

   the act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection)
   synonyms: embracement, embracing

   types:

   cuddle, nestle, snuggle

   a close and affectionate (and often prolonged) embrace

   clinch, hug, squeeze

   a tight or amorous embrace

   type of:

   clasp, clench, clutch, clutches, grasp, grip, hold

   the act of grasping
3. noun

   the state of taking in or encircling
   “an island in the embrace of the sea”

   type of:

   inclusion

   the state of being included
4. verb

   take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own
   “She embraced Catholicism”

   synonyms: adopt, espouse, sweep up

   types:

   fasten on, hook on, latch on, seize on, take up

   adopt

   type of:

   accept

   consider or hold as true
5. noun

   a close affectionate and protective acceptance
   “his willing embrace of new ideas”

   synonyms: bosom

   type of:

   acceptance, acceptation, adoption, espousal

   the act of accepting with approval; favorable reception
6. verb

   include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory
   synonyms: comprehend, cover, encompass

   address, cover, deal, handle, plow, treat

   act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression

   type of:

   include

   have as a part; be made up out of