the act of accepting with approval; favorable reception; "its adoption by society"; "the proposal found wide acceptance"
a legal proceeding that creates a parent-child relation between persons not related by blood; the adopted child is entitled to all privileges belonging to a natural child of the adoptive parents (including the right to inherit)
reach, make, or come to a decision about something; "We finally decided after lengthy deliberations"
bring to an end; settle conclusively; "The case was decided"; "The judge decided the case in favor of the plaintiff"; "The father adjudicated when the sons were quarreling over their inheritance"
cause to decide; "This new development finally decided me!"
influence or determine; "The vote in New Hampshire often decides the outcome of the Presidential election"
make an oral contract or agreement in the verbal form of question and answer that is necessary to give it legal force
specify as a condition or requirement in a contract or agreement; make an express demand or provision in an agreement; "The will stipulates that she can live in the house for the rest of her life"; "The contract stipulates the dates of the payments"
give a guarantee or promise of; "They stipulated to release all the prisoners"
make understandable to the general public; "Carl Sagan popularized cosmology in his books"
cater to popular taste to make popular and present to the general public; bring into general or common use; "They popularized coffee in Washington State"; "Relativity Theory was vulgarized by these authors"