Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 17, 2025 is:
 
 
 
 
 espouse &#149; \ih-SPOWZ\&nbsp; &#149; verb
 To espouse an ideology, belief, etc., is to take it up and support it as a cause. Espouse is usually encountered in formal speech and writing.

// The article explores some of the lesser-known viewpoints espoused by the charismatic leader. 

<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/espouse">See the entry ></a>
 
 
 
 Examples:
 “Crammed into a tiny apartment in Greenwich Village, they [Yoko Ono and John Lennon] immersed themselves in the city’s counterculture, absorbing progressive politics whenever they weren’t glued to the television set. Lennon’s celebrity secured the duo a large platform to espouse these ideas ...” — Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Pitchfork, 11 Oct. 2025 
 
 
 
 Did you know?
 As you might guess, the words espouse and <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spouse">spouse</a> are hitched, both coming from the Latin verb spondēre, meaning “to promise” or “to <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/betroth">betroth</a>.” In fact, the two were once completely interchangeable, with each serving as a noun meaning “a newly married person” or “a partner in marriage” and also as a verb meaning “to marry.” Their semantic separation began when the noun espouse fell out of use. Nowadays, espouse is almost exclusively encountered as a verb used in the figuratively extended sense “to commit to and support as a cause.”

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