embrace

Syllables: em·brace/ɛmˈbɹeɪs/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Multicultural London English/ɛmˈbɹes/

embrace verb: to clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug.

Image: Bartolomeo Cesi, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

embrace (third-person singular simple present embraces, present participle embracing, simple past and past participle embraced)

(transitive) To clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug.
- There was no faynting faith in that Dogge, which when his Master by a mischaunce in hunting stumbled and fell toppling downe a deepe dytche beyng vnable to recouer of himselfe, the Dogge signifying his masters mishappe, reskue came, and he was hayled up by a rope, whom the Dogge seeying almost...1576, Iohannes Caius [i.e., John Caius], “Dogges of a Course Kind Seruing for Many Necessary Uses, Called in Latine Canes Rustici, and First of the Shepherds Dogge, Called in Latine Canis...
- I will imbrace him with a ſouldiour's arme, / That he ſhall ſhrinke vnder my curteſie, […]c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]
Synonyms:

fall on someone's neck
(figuratively, transitive) To seize (something) eagerly or with alacrity; to accept or take up with cordiality; to welcome.
- I wholeheartedly embrace the new legislation.
- Embrace any opportunities that may come your way.
(figuratively, transitive) To submit to; to undergo.
- What I haue done my ſafety vrg'd me to: / And I embrace this fortune patiently, / Since not to be auoided it fals on me.c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]
- Faced with the most significant public health crisis in a century, the population has largely embraced the strict but essential government instructions on social distancing that have been carefully designed to protect lives and to curb the spread of COVID-19.2020 April 22, Paul Stephen, “COVID-19: meet the railway heroes”, in Rail, page 40
Synonyms:

accept
(also, figuratively, transitive) To encircle; to enclose, to encompass.
- Low at his foot a ſpacious Plain is plac't, / Between the Mountain and the Stream embrac't: / Which ſhade and ſhelter from the Hill derives, / While the kind River Wealth and Beauty gives; […]1642, John Denham, “Coopers Hill”, in Poems and Translations, with the Sophy. […], 4th edition, Printed by T. W. for H[enry] Herringman and sold by Jacob Tonson […], and Thomas Bennet […], published...
- But it was not this that conveyed the size of the steppe so much as the multiplicity of these nomadic encampments, cropping up wherever the eye rested, yet invariably separate by a mile or two from their neighbours. There were hundreds of them, and the sight, therefore, seemed to embrace hundreds...1937, Robert Byron, “Gumbad-i-Kabus (200 ft.), April 24th”, in The Road to Oxiana, London: Macmillan & Co., →OCLC, part V, page 228
Synonyms:

entwine, surround
(figuratively, transitive) To enfold, to include (ideas, principles, etc.); to encompass.
- Natural philosophy embraces many sciences.
- Not that my ſong, in ſuch a ſcanty ſpace, / So large a Subject fully can embrace: […]1697, Virgil, “The Second Book of the Georgics”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 73, lines...
(obsolete, rare, transitive) To fasten on, as armour.
- VVho ſeeing him from far ſo fierce to pricke, / His warlike armes about him gan embrace, / And in the reſt his ready ſpeare did ſticke; […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 26, page 194
(figuratively, obsolete, transitive) To accept (someone) as a friend; to accept (someone's) help gladly.
- He bears himſelfe more proudlier, / Euen to my perſon, then I thought he would / When firſt I did embrace him.c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
(figuratively, obsolete, transitive) To attempt to influence (a court, jury, etc.) corruptly; to practise embracery.
- The puniſhment for the perſon embracing is by fine and impriſonment; and, for the juror ſo embraced, if it be by taking money, the puniſhment is (by divers ſtatutes of the reign of Edward III) perpetual infamy, impriſonment for a year, and forfeiture of the tenfold value.1769, William Blackstone, “Of Offences against Public Justice”, in Commentaries on the Laws of England, book IV (Of Public Wrongs), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC, paragraph 18, page...

Noun

embrace (plural embraces)

An act of putting arms around someone and bringing the person close to the chest; a hug.
- [E]yes, looke your laſt, / Armes take your laſt embrace: and lips, O you / The doores of breath, ſeale with a righteous kiſſe / A dateleſſe bargain to ingroſſing death: […]c. 1591–1595 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] Romeo and Iuliet. […] (Second Quarto), London: […] Thomas Creede, for Cuthbert Burby, […], published 1599, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]
- That Gentleman I mean to make the model of my Fortunes, and in his chaſt imbraces keep alive the memory of my loſt lovely Loveleſe: he is ſomewhat like him too.c. 1613–1616, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Scornful Lady, a Comedy”, in Fifty Comedies and Tragedies. […], [part 1], London: […] J[ohn] Macock [and H. Hills], for John Martyn, Henry...
(figuratively) An enclosure partially or fully surrounding someone or something.
- When he reached the ridge the outlying fog crept across the summit, caught him in its embrace, and wrapped him from her gaze.1882, Bret Harte, “Flip: A California Romance. Chapter II.”, in Flip; and Found at Blazing Star, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton, Mifflin and Company […], →OCLC, page 44
- We were now within the embrace of a broad bay flanked on either hand by a low promontory.1896, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Evil-looking Boatmen”, in The Island of Doctor Moreau (Heinemann’s Colonial Library of Popular Fiction; 52), London: William Heinemann, →OCLC; republished as The...
(figuratively) Full acceptance (of something).
- And it was the white blood which sent him to the minister, which rising in him for the last and final time, sent him against all reason and all reality, into the embrace of a chimera, a blind faith in something read in a printed Book.1932, William Faulkner, chapter 19, in Light in August, [New York, N.Y.]: Harrison Smith & Robert Haas, →OCLC; republished London: Chatto & Windus, 1933, →OCLC, pages 424–425
- It then occurred to Barbara, and recurred more strongly after she had learned of Ricky's marriage and her sale of the school in England, her eager embrace of Islam, and the total handing over of her lot to Joe Ramdez, that there had been no secret state of mind in Ricky.1965, Muriel Spark, “The Passionate Pilgrims”, in The Mandelbaum Gate, London: Macmillan, →OCLC; The Mandelbaum Gate (A Borzoi Book), 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Alfred A. Knopf, 1965...
(figuratively) An act of enfolding or including.
- In India men are enjoined to be fully awake to the fact that they are in the closest relation to things around them, body and soul, and that they are to hail the morning sun, the flowing water, the fruitful earth, as the manifestation of the same living truth which holds them in its embrace.1913 November, Rabindranath Tagore, “The Relation of the Individual to the Universe”, in Sādhanā: The Realisation of Life, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, →OCLC, page 8

embrace meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

embrace in Hindi

to clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection — see also hug: आलिंगन करना āliṅgan karnā
act of putting arms around someone and bringing the person close to the chest — see also hug: आलिंगन āliṅgan, आग़ोश āġoś

embrace in Tamil

to clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection — see also hug: தழுவு taḻuvu

embrace in Marathi

embrace: मिठी miṭhī, खेंव kheuva

embrace in Urdu

to clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection — see also hug: گلے ملنا gale milnā, گلے لگانا gale lagānā, ملنا milnā
act of putting arms around someone and bringing the person close to the chest — see also hug: بَغَل گِیری baġal gīrī, آغوش āġoś

More languagesFewer languages

embrace in Bengali: বন্ধন bondhon
embrace in Telugu: కౌగిలించు kaugiliñcu, ఆలింగనము āliṅganamu, కౌగిలింత kaugilinta
embrace in Malayalam: കെട്ടിപ്പിടിക്കുക keṭṭippiṭikkuka, പുണരുക puṇaruka, ആലിംഗനം ചെയ്യുക āliṅganaṁ ceyyuka, കെട്ടിപ്പിടുത്തം keṭṭippiṭuttaṁ
embrace in Kannada: ಅಪ್ಪುಗೆ, ತಕ್ಕೆ, ತೆಕ್ಕೆ, ತರ್ಕೆ
embrace in Punjabi: ਕੱਛ kaccha, ਪਾਰੀ pārī, چمڑنا cimmaṛnā, ਮਿਲਣਾ milṇā
embrace in Gujarati: બાથ bāth, ભેટવું bheṭvũ
embrace in Sanskrit: स्वञ्ज् svañj, अङ्खयति aṅkháyati, श्लिष्यति ślíṣyati, वेवेष्टि véveṣṭi
embrace in Assamese: আঁকোৱালি ল ãküali lo, সাবট xabot, সাৱটি ধৰ xawoti dhor, আঁকোৱাল ãküal
embrace in Pashto: غېږ ǧeǵ
embrace in Tagalog: yakapin, yumakap, yakap
embrace in Arabic: اِحْتَضَنَ iḥtaḍana, عَانَقَ ʕānaqa, اِحْتِضَان iḥtiḍān, عِنَاق ʕināq
embrace in Malay: memeluk
embrace in Indonesian: memeluk, mendekap
embrace in Persian: در آغوش گرفتن dar âġuš gereftan, بغل کردن baġal kardan, پذیرفتن paziroftan
embrace in Thai: กอด gɔ̀ɔt, การกอด gaan-gɔ̀ɔt
embrace in Vietnamese: ôm, sự ôm
embrace in Myanmar: ဖက် hpak

Examples of embrace in a sentence

She clapped her hands and laughed, and tried to touch his head; but being too little, laughed again, and stood on tiptoe to embrace him.1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave Two. The First of the Three Spirits.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […]...
We embrace our children to be folded in the arms of the future, to pass ourselves beyond death, to be transported.1990, J[ohn] M[axwell] Coetzee, chapter 1, in Age of Iron, London: Secker and Warburg, →ISBN, page 5; republished London: Penguin Books...
I take it your owne buſineſſe cals on you, / And you embrace the occaſion to depart.c. 1596–1598 (date written), W[illiam] Shakespeare, The Excellent History of the Merchant of Venice. […] (First Quarto), [London]: […]...
Thou hast shown me the means of revenge, and be assured I will embrace them.1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter XIII, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable...

All 40 example sentences with embrace

Synonyms of embrace

14 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of embrace

Forms of embrace

Verb
third-person singular present	embraces
present participle	embracing
past participle	embraced
past	embraced
alternative form	imbrace
Noun
plural	embraces

Past tense of embrace: embraced

Plural of embrace: embraces

Origin of embrace

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.

Words formed from embrace

Words that rhyme with embrace

45 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about embrace

What does embrace mean?: Embrace means to clasp (someone or each other) in the arms with affection; to take in the arms; to hug.
What is embrace in Hindi?: Embrace in Hindi is आलिंगन करना (āliṅgan karnā), आलिंगन (āliṅgan), आग़ोश (āġoś). See Embrace meaning in Hindi.
How do you use embrace in a sentence?: She clapped her hands and laughed, and tried to touch his head; but being too little, laughed again, and stood on tiptoe to embrace him.
What part of speech is embrace?: Embrace can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce embrace?: Embrace is pronounced /ɛmˈbɹes/ (Multicultural London English).
What is the past tense of embrace?: The past tense of embrace is embraced.

Words near embrace in the dictionary

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-embrace.oga, En-us-embrace.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Commander Keane-embrace.wav.

Cite this entry: “embrace.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/embrace. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.