EMBRACE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does embrace mean? 

• EMBRACE (noun)
  The noun EMBRACE has 3 senses:

1. the act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection)

2. the state of taking in or encircling

3. a close affectionate and protective acceptance

  Familiarity information: EMBRACE used as a noun is uncommon.

• EMBRACE (verb)
  The verb EMBRACE has 3 senses:

1. include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory

2. hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness

3. take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own

  Familiarity information: EMBRACE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• EMBRACE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

embrace; embracement; embracing

Hypernyms ("embrace" is a kind of...):

clasp; clench; clutch; clutches; grasp; grip; hold (the act of grasping)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "embrace"):

cuddle; nestle; snuggle (a close and affectionate (and often prolonged) embrace)

clinch; hug; squeeze (a tight or amorous embrace)

Derivation:

embrace (hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The state of taking in or encircling

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

an island in the embrace of the sea

Hypernyms ("embrace" is a kind of...):

inclusion (the state of being included)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A close affectionate and protective acceptance

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

bosom; embrace

Context example:

in the bosom of the family

Hypernyms ("embrace" is a kind of...):

acceptance; acceptation; adoption; espousal (the act of accepting with approval; favorable reception)

Derivation:

embrace (take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own)

• EMBRACE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they embrace    ... he / she / it embraces   
Past simple: embraced   
Past participle: embraced   
-ing form: embracing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Include in scope; include as part of something broader; have as one's sphere or territory

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Synonyms:

comprehend; cover; embrace; encompass

Context example:

this should cover everyone in the group

Hypernyms (to "embrace" is one way to...):

include (have as a part, be made up out of)

Verb group:

address; cover; deal; handle; plow; treat (act on verbally or in some form of artistic expression)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Hold (someone) tightly in your arms, usually with fondness

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

bosom; embrace; hug; squeeze

Context example:

He hugged her close to him

Hypernyms (to "embrace" is one way to...):

clasp (hold firmly and tightly)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "embrace"):

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)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence examples:

Sam and Sue embrace
Sam cannot embrace Sue

Derivation:

embrace; embracement; embracing (the act of clasping another person in the arms (as in greeting or affection))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Take up the cause, ideology, practice, method, of someone and use it as one's own

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

adopt; embrace; espouse; sweep up

Context example:

They adopted the Jewish faith

Hypernyms (to "embrace" is one way to...):

accept (consider or hold as true)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "embrace"):

fasten on; hook on; latch on; seize on; take up (adopt)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

embrace (a close affectionate and protective acceptance)

 Context examples 

With these words she embraced me hastily, and went out of the room, shutting the door after her.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

But no harm came of it, nor of the embrace from the strange man-god that followed.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

He then looked at us and asked some questions, after which he stepped up with much dignity and embraced us also each in turn.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Gentle, soft dream, nestling in my arms now, you will fly, too, as your sisters have all fled before you: but kiss me before you go—embrace me, Jane.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Mr. March became invisible in the embrace of four pairs of loving arms.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

His eyes embraced the dead and wounded in a sweeping glance.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

They embraced their dear mother, and jumped like a tailor at his wedding.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

The score derived from universally embraced prostate cancer grading system developed by Dr. Donald F. Gleason in 1977.

(Gleason Score for Prostate Cancer, NCI Thesaurus)

Strange and harrowing must be his story, frightful the storm which embraced the gallant vessel on its course and wrecked it—thus!

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

He had himself climbed up behind, and I, after a hearty handshake from my father, and a last sobbing embrace from my mother, took my place beside my uncle in the front.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)