swear
Americanverb (used without object)
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swears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swore,
past
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sware,
past (Archaic)
-
sworn,
past participle
-
swearing
present participle
-
to make a solemn declaration or affirmation by some sacred being or object, as a deity or the Bible.
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to bind oneself by oath.
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to give evidence or make a statement on oath.
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to use profane oaths or language.
Don't swear in front of the children.
- Synonyms:
- imprecate
verb (used with object)
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swears,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swore,
past
-
sware,
past (Archaic)
-
sworn,
past participle
-
swearing
present participle
-
to declare, affirm, attest, etc., by swearing by a deity, some sacred object, etc.
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to affirm, assert, or say with solemn earnestness.
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to promise or undertake on oath or in a solemn manner; vow.
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to testify or state on oath.
He swore it on the witness stand.
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to take (an oath), as in order to give solemnity or force to a declaration, promise, etc.
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to bind by an oath.
to swear someone to secrecy.
noun
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swears
plural
verb phrase
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swear by
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to name (a sacred being or thing) as one's witness or guarantee in swearing.
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Informal. to have great confidence in; rely on.
He swears by his dentist.
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to have certain knowledge of.
I thought I saw him leaving, but I couldn't swear by it.
-
-
swear off to promise or resolve to give up something.
I've decided to swear off the internet one day a week.
Have you sworn off red meat?
-
swear in to admit to office or service by administering an oath.
A new president will be sworn in today.
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swear out to secure (a warrant for arrest) by making an accusation under oath.
verb
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to declare or affirm (a statement) as true, esp by invoking a deity, etc, as witness
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(foll by by)
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to invoke (a deity, etc) by name as a witness or guarantee to an oath
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to trust implicitly; have complete confidence (in)
-
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to curse, blaspheme, or use swearwords
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(when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to promise solemnly on oath; vow
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(tr) to assert or affirm with great emphasis or earnestness
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(intr) to give evidence or make any statement or solemn declaration on oath
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to take an oath in order to add force or solemnity to (a statement or declaration)
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informal to assert emphatically
noun
Synonym Usage
See curse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swearsimple
-
swearssimple
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have swornperfect
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has swornperfect
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am swearingprogressive
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are swearingprogressive
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is swearingprogressive
-
have been swearingperfect progressive
-
has been swearingperfect progressive
Past
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swaresimple
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sworesimple
-
had swornperfect
-
was swearingprogressive
-
were swearingprogressive
-
had been swearingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swear
First recorded before 900; Middle English sweren, Old English swerian; cognate with German schwören, Old Norse sverja; akin to Gothic swaran “to swear”; see answer
Explanation
When you take an oath about something, you swear to it, affirming its truth. Ironically, if you utter an oath, such as a curse word or obscenity, you also swear. Do you swear to put a quarter in this jar for every time you swear? The two separate meanings of swear come from branches of the same etymological tree. Both meanings have ties to Old Norse sverja, but sometime in the Middle English, the word became on one hand sweren with the meaning "to promise," while another version, swerian, became "to curse." Both might come from the idea of an oath being connected to a deity, but while one referred to truth, the other went to the dark side, negatively invoking a sacred name.
Vocabulary lists containing swear
The Presidential Oath of Office Vocabulary
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"My Brother's Keeper" and "What Price Loyalty?"
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Homesick
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Make a rule and set an amount, whether it’s $5,000 or $10,000, and solemnly swear that no one moves more than that amount without telling the other.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026
"Such is our word, such is our oath. I swear!"
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Journalist Namita Bhandare who writes a popular column on gender issues in the Hindustan Times newspaper told the BBC that contrary to what people say, many "women in India of course swear, it's not new".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
So why do so many people swear this summer has felt so unusually oppressive?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
Penelope could swear she saw Bertha sigh with relief as he went.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
Will Barnett, head of recruiting for a Bay Area startup, swears he still speaks like a human but finds AI-use is influencing his communications over Slack and email.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
An NBA player swears it brought him good luck after devouring it the night before a big game.
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026
Vincent swears dogs can be trained to do anything, like open the refrigerator.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
He swears by the practice, saying it’s kept his bowel movements regular and his emotional state at an equilibrium.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Trust me, man, pretty much every dude in here swears they’re some kind of comedian.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
And they waxed wroth against the High Priestess and said, Didst thou not sware, even unto seven times, that thou wouldst not call a snap election?
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 9, 2017
To wrong the bonny lassie I sware ’t would be a sin; So I knelt down by the watter To dip my helmet in.
From Random Rhymes and Rambles by William Aldis Wright
And Saul sware to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no punishment happen to thee for this thing.
From The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, Vol. 7 (of 12) Dresden Edition?Discussions by Robert Green Ingersoll
And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. v.
From Oscar Wilde by Leonard Cresswell Ingleby
And the servant sware to Abraham his master concerning this matter.
From Heroes of Israel Text of the Hero Stories with Notes and Questions for Young Students by Theodore Gerald Soares
"Today we renew the sacred oath that we first swore in their names a quarter of a century ago. We will never, ever forget. That's why we fight today," Trump said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
For her part, Korte wrote on X: "It's a shame for the institution and service members, who swore to defend the Constitution and deserve the right to a free and independent press."
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Adams swore to the end that he was “one of the most honorable, decent cops I have ever met,” and she had met--and tested--a lot of cops.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Jouppi swore he had no idea; bush pilots do not rummage through their passengers’ bags.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
One girl, Missy Samuels, swore Skeleton Woman lived in a broken-down shack in the woods near Loomis Lake.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
It marked the first time a Quebec premier was sworn in without a representative of the British monarchy present.
From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026
A few days later, with Ms. Graham sworn in, President Trump endorsed her in a race in which she hadn’t intended to compete.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
“He cultivated relationships with sworn law enforcement officers and used those relationships to further his personal and financial interests,” Anderson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Kiir will remain in office with full constitutional powers until an elected president is sworn in.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
I could have sworn I didn’t notice them at all.
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
When youngsters start apologizing for swearing in your presence, you’ve aged.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
Kito showed Becerra a picture of the then-congressman swearing him in as a neighborhood council president more than a decade ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
The decision by Wetherspoons follows a stricter, longstanding policy from rival pub chain Sam Smiths which bans no phone or tech use of any kind, in addition to a ban on swearing.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
For this and other reasons, Kevin Warsh, at his swearing in as the new Fed chairman External link last month, singled out Greenspan among his predecessors for praise in delivering prosperity without inflation.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
She’s also developed a bit of a swearing habit, which I’ll tell you more about later.
From "I Am the Messenger" by Markus Zusak
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