espouse

1. (transitive) To marry.Examples: "For I am iealous ouer you with godly iealousie, for I haue espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."; "Now the birth of Iesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Ioseph (before they came together) shee was found with childe of the holy Ghost."; "Philip and Henry terminated hostilities by a mutual restitution of all places taken during the course of the war; and Philip espoused the princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of France, formerly betrothed to his son Don Carlos."transitive

2. (transitive, figurative, modern usage) To accept, support, or take on as one’s own (an idea or a cause).Examples: "Although Dowty’s proposal is attractive from the point of view of the alternative argument linking theory that I am espousing, since it eschews the use of thematic roles and thematic role hierarchies, […], but it still has some drawbacks."; "Those that espoused this ideology […]"; "Among those leavers who believe Brexit has not gone well, many blame politicians for handling it badly – a narrative espoused by the former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who recently claimed that “Brexit has failed”."figurativelytransitive