(n.) The act of betrothing, or the fact of being betrothed; a mutual promise, engagement, or contract for a future marriage between the persons betrothed; betrothment; affiance.
Example Sentences:
(1) Back in London, I had word that Estella was betrothed to Bentley Drummle, a loathsome ne-er-do-well from my lunching club.
(2) Concomitant with the reintroduction of the ancient European betrothal system, the adolescent age of first coitus has lowered and averages two years earlier than first contraception.
(3) The peculiar thing about the opera is that the back story – war, slayings, the murder of the Irish princess Isolde's betrothed by the Cornish knight Tristan, her determination to kill the latter, her failure to do so, the way she healed Tristan's wounds and kept his identity secret – is more interesting than the story itself, which revolves around the pair not quite being able to make love despite drinking a love potion (substituted by Isolde's lady-in-waiting Brangäne for the poison with which Isolde intended to kill both Tristan and herself as they journeyed to Cornwall, where she was to marry boring old King Marke).
(4) Are Nicola Sturgeon and the majority within her party really so betrothed to the idea of the UK being part of the European Union that she is comfortable with Mr Blair sliding on to the same platform?
(5) Though not so much as to accept the impertinent offer of marriage from Mr Guppy, for – if it is not too much to hope – I rather think that in 500 pages or so I may be betrothed to the handsome and warm-hearted Dr Woodcourt who gave me some reason for encouragement before leaving the narrative after being nice to Young Jo.
(6) Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Tyrells of the Reach Margaery Tyrell has King Joffrey, her betrothed, firmly under her thumb, much to the chagrin of Cersei.
(7) The shrewd reader will regard the final betrothal of Emma and Mr Knightley as inevitable, from the moment we know that he is the only person ever to find fault with her.
(8) "There was only one saving grace," he wrote in his autobiography Dear Me (1977), which sold a million copies, "and that was that I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me the most civilised music in the universe."
(9) The engaged couple were reported to have celebrated their betrothal in the hotel's bar, drinking champagne and cocktails with other guests.
(10) There you are, betrothed to your beloved, but something goes wrong and it is broken off in tears and recriminations.
Espousement
Definition:
(n.) The act of espousing, or the state of being espoused.
Example Sentences:
(1) A key part of the legacy vision espoused by Lord Coe that helped to win the Games was the promise to use the 2012 Olympics to inspire more young people to play sport.
(2) The church excommunicated him in 1901, unhappy with his novel Resurrection and Tolstoy's espousal of Christian anarchist and pacifist views.
(3) The foundation espouses a method of urban planning called Enquiry by Design .
(4) That is the view Professor Carter has been espousing for a long time.
(5) We cannot think that a society has a future when it fails to pass laws capable of protecting families and ensuring their basic needs, especially those of families just starting out.” Intentionally or not, the pontiff’s politically tinged address would have bolstered his progressive reputation, even though traditional Catholic social doctrine has long espoused access to housing, medical aid and work.
(6) Anglo-American psychiatry, in espousing Jaspers and rejecting psychoanalysis, has in consequence concentrated on the form and not the sense of delusions.
(7) Hillary Clinton said on Monday that while she does not “know what’s in his heart”, she considers Donald Trump’s attack on a federal judge of Mexican heritage to be “a racist attack” and part of a pattern of bigotry espoused by the presumptive Republican nominee.
(8) We asked some regular Ukip supporting – or, at least, sympathising – commenters to tell us why they’re thinking of voting for the party and their experiences espousing the party’s views on the Guardian website.
(9) His sexist commentary and anti-woman statements, coupled with the Republican policy positions he espouses, make it virtually impossible to envision any scenario whereby 50% of female voters would cast their ballots for him.
(10) One thing that most experts agree on is that the pope is enigmatic: while he seems to espouse liberal values on some days, raising the hopes of progressive Catholics of a changing church, his staunch adherence to conservative doctrine proves that he is not the radical reformer many liberals might wish that he was.
(11) A mongst even my peers in Texas, it has become acceptable – hip, even – to espouse one's love for a member of the same sex.
(12) We have espoused unpopular causes, stood up for those too feeble to stand up for themselves, locked horns with the high and mighty so swollen with power that they have forgotten their roots, exposed corruption and the waste of your hard-earned tax rupees, and made sure that whatever the propaganda of the day, you were allowed to hear a contrary view.
(13) Because, while Edward Snowden's and the Guardian 's revelations about the NSA have shown how all-encompassing the state's surveillance has become, a counterculture movement of digital activists espousing the importance of freedom, individualism and the right to a private life beyond the state's control is also rapidly gaining traction.
(14) He espoused the belief that diet holds the key to its control at a time when that belief was widely considered to be false and its proponents a little crazy.
(15) The taste of water has been examined by both electrophysiological methods and by behavior, but none of the mechanisms espoused for its effect seem adequate to explain the response to D2O.
(16) The plan to devolve almost £50bn to the regions to boost growth sounds like the sort of thing politicians love to espouse in opposition, but quickly go off once in power.
(17) "It is about commemorating a dream that was espoused 50 years ago," he said.
(18) Those above the line espouse liberal and democratic values, those below tend toward authoritarian policies.
(19) Earlier this month David Harewood, a lead in US conspiracy drama Homeland that aired for the first time in the UK on Sunday (19 February), reinforced a view that has long been espoused by minority performers frustrated with the lack of opportunities on offer here: "There really aren't enough strong, authoritative roles for black actors in this country," he told a crowded Bafta screening at the British industry's grand epicentre in Piccadilly.
(20) They espouse contradictory beliefs about men: they believe that men are predatory and not trustworthy, but also more mainstream beliefs that call for reliance on the opposite sex.