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Glite Dictionary
to embrace identity

to embrace identity

1 4.4
To accept and feel proud of who you are and where you come from
  • phrasal verb
: aceptar la identidad
  • Celebrities often encourage fans to embrace identity in a world that values conformity.

Examples

  • She decided to embrace identity after years of feeling different from her peers.

  • When Preciosa embraces her identity as her father's daughter, she also inevitably acknowledges her status as an object of patriarchal exchange: "la mas rica joya" of her father's house (156).

    Academic text (1994)

  • The campaign celebrates those who embrace identity, whatever their background may be.

  • To thrive in her new community, Maria learned to embrace her identity as a first-generation immigrant.

  • The workshop encouraged participants to embrace their identities and share their unique stories.

  • After years of self-doubt, Jason finally decided to embrace his identity as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Synonyms

to identify as
vsto embrace identity
68 4.1

To say you belong to a group or have a certain identity

goes beyond recognition to accept and welcome that sense of self
to proudly identify as
vsto embrace identity
1 4.9

Openly and confidently say you belong to a group

accepts and welcomes that sense of self privately and personally
to be oneself
vsto embrace identity
1 2.8

To act naturally and honestly without pretending to be someone else

focuses on inward acceptance rather than outward natural behavior

Antonyms

to deny
661 1.6

To refuse to let someone have something

Surface Forms

embrace identity infinitive
embraced identity past
embraced identity past participle
embracing identity present participle
embraces identity third person singular

Morphology

embrace + identity

The meaning 'to accept and confidently welcome one's own identity' is directly and predictably composed from 'embrace' (to take on or adopt enthusiastically) + 'identity' (the characteristics that define a person). This straightforward compositional relation is cross‑linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Embrace identity comes from the simple image of embrace meaning a hug and identity meaning who you are. Imagine hugging a photo of yourself to show you 'accept' and 'welcome' who you are, and that's why the phrase means 'to accept and confidently welcome your own identity'.