forswear

[ fawr-swair ]

See synonyms for: forswear forswearing forsworn on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),for·swore

[fawr-swawr], /fɔrˈswɔr/, for·sworn

[fawr-swawrn], /fɔrˈswɔrn/, for·swear·ing.

to reject or renounce under oath: to forswear an injurious habit.
to deny vehemently or under oath.

to perjure (oneself).

verb (used without object),for·swore

[fawr-swawr], /fɔrˈswɔr/, for·sworn

[fawr-swawrn], /fɔrˈswɔrn/, for·swear·ing.

to swear falsely; commit perjury.

Origin of forswear

First recorded before 900; Middle English forsweren, Old English forswerian; see origin at for-, swear

Also fore·swear .

Other words for forswear

1	abjure, relinquish, forgo, forsake, abandon

See synonyms for forswear on Thesaurus.com

Other words from forswear

for·swear·er, noun

Words Nearby forswear

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use forswear in a sentence

It’s never been true before in human history that the most powerful weapon available to our species was widely forsworn.
How to think about the risk of nuclear war, according to 3 experts | Neel Dhanesha | February 27, 2022 | Vox
The pact bound partner nations to use space only for peaceful purposes, to forswear claims of sovereignty over any region beyond Earth, to lend aid to astronauts in distress, and more.
A New Space Pact Seeks to Ensure Peace and Prosperity—on the Moon | Jeffrey Kluger | October 14, 2020 | Time
You do not forswear studying by electric light because Lincoln relied on his fireplace.
Randy Cohen’s Three Favorite Ethicist Columns | Randy Cohen | October 9, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
A veritable Judas, preparing to forswear his people and their cause, willing to lie and deny his participation.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander Berkman
They made up their minds to forswear the love of women with all its humiliations and disappointments and futilities.
Sinister Street, vol. 1 | Compton Mackenzie

Fortune had been kind to him and he had passed so many competitors on the way that he could forswear jealousy and be generous.
The Tragic Muse | Henry James
Well, I go; an he should not take it, Firk swears to forswear him.
The Mermaid Series. Edited by H. Ellis. The best plays of the old dramatists. Thomas Dekker. Edited, with an introduction and notes by Ernest Rhys. | Thomas Dekker
We'll trip it tightly, And make my sad young mistress merry again, Or I'll forswear the cellar.
The Plays of Philip Massinger | Philip Massinger

British Dictionary definitions for forswear

forswear

/ (fɔːˈswɛə) /

verb-swears, -swearing, -swore or -sworn

(tr) to reject or renounce with determination or as upon oath
(tr) to deny or disavow absolutely or upon oath: he forswore any knowledge of the crime

to perjure (oneself)

Origin of forswear

Old English forswearian

Derived forms of forswear

forswearer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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