forswear

[ fawr-swair ]

/ fɔrˈswɛər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forswear ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), for·swore, for·sworn, for·swearing.

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, for·sworn, for·swearing.

to swear falsely; commit perjury.

Nearby words

forspent, forssmann, forster, forsterite, forstner bit, forswear, forsworn, forsyth, forsythia, fort, fort belvoir

Origin of forswear

before 900; Middle English forsweren, Old English forswerian. See for-, swear

SYNONYMS FOR forswear

1 abjure, relinquish, forgo, forsake, abandon.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR forswear ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

for·swear·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for forswear

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|DAILY BEAST
He was almost ready to forswear his former belief, and to assert positively that Helen had no sense whatever.
Helen with the High Hand (2nd ed.)|Arnold Bennett
My hand had widowed the woman, for whom I had once been so sorely tempted to forswear civilization.
Buckskin Mose|Buckskin Mose
If thy boon-companions are Sher-i-amad and aidar-qul, it should not be hard for thee to forswear wine.
The Bbur-nma in English|Babur, Emperor of Hindustan

"Now forswear this not too roundly," spake the mother in reply.
The Nibelungenlied|Unknown
But first came a more urgent question: Had his uncle and his "prefaces" committed him to forswear tobacco?
Count Bunker|J. Storer Clouston

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 oathhe forswore any knowledge of the crime

to perjure (oneself)

Derived Forms

forswearer, noun

Word Origin for forswear

Old English forswearian

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