4 uses
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Definition
to take on as one's own
The exact meaning of adopt depends upon its context. For example:
- "adopt a child" — to legally take on parental responsibilities for another person's child
- "adopt a plan" — to accept or begin to use something
- "adopt a pet" — to take in a pet — especially one from an animal shelter
- "Congress adopted the resolution." — had a formal vote and passed
- "adopted a confident attitude" — took on or displayed
- There was no way of knowing whose job would finally be adopted, but he felt a profound conviction that it would be his own.p. 47.8
- At nine teen he had designed a hand-grenade which had been adopted by the Ministry of Peace and which, at its first trial, had killed thirty-one Eurasian prisoners in one burst.p. 47.1
- He did not see that the continuity of an oligarchy need not be physical, nor did he pause to reflect that hereditary aristocracies have always been shortlived, whereas adoptive organizations such as the Catholic Church have sometimes lasted for hundreds or thousands of years.p. 209.9
- It preaches a contempt for the working class unexampled for centuries past, and it dresses its members in a uniform which was at one time peculiar to manual workers and was adopted for that reason.p. 216.5
There are no more uses of "adopt" in 1984 by Orwell.
Typical Usage
(best examples)