swear

American  

[swair] / swɛər /

verb (used without object)

• swears,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swore,
  past
• sware,
  past (Archaic)
• sworn,
  past participle
• swearing
  present participle

1. to make a solemn declaration or affirmation by some sacred being or object, as a deity or the Bible.

   Synonyms:

   avow, affirm, declare

2. to bind oneself by oath.

3. to give evidence or make a statement on oath.

   Synonyms:

   testify, depose

4. to use profane oaths or language.

   Don't swear in front of the children.

   Synonyms:

   imprecate

---

verb (used with object)

• swears,
  present (3rd person singular)
• swore,
  past
• sware,
  past (Archaic)
• sworn,
  past participle
• swearing
  present participle

1. to declare, affirm, attest, etc., by swearing by a deity, some sacred object, etc.

2. to affirm, assert, or say with solemn earnestness.

3. to promise or undertake on oath or in a solemn manner; vow.

4. to testify or state on oath.

   He swore it on the witness stand.

5. to take (an oath), as in order to give solemnity or force to a declaration, promise, etc.

6. to bind by an oath.

   to swear someone to secrecy.

noun

• swears
  plural

1. Informal. a profane or obscene word; curse word.

   If we said a swear, Mom made us put a quarter in the jar.

   Heads-up—this movie trailer is full of swears and is NSFW.

verb phrase

1. swear by

   1. to name (a sacred being or thing) as one's witness or guarantee in swearing.

   2. Informal. to have great confidence in; rely on.

      He swears by his dentist.

   3. to have certain knowledge of.

      I thought I saw him leaving, but I couldn't swear by it.

2. 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?

3. swear in to admit to office or service by administering an oath.

   A new president will be sworn in today.

4. swear out to secure (a warrant for arrest) by making an accusation under oath.

swear British  

/ swɛə /

verb

1. to declare or affirm (a statement) as true, esp by invoking a deity, etc, as witness

2. (foll by by)

   1. to invoke (a deity, etc) by name as a witness or guarantee to an oath

   2. to trust implicitly; have complete confidence (in)

3. to curse, blaspheme, or use swearwords

4. (when tr, may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to promise solemnly on oath; vow

5. (tr) to assert or affirm with great emphasis or earnestness

6. (intr) to give evidence or make any statement or solemn declaration on oath

7. to take an oath in order to add force or solemnity to (a statement or declaration)

8. informal to assert emphatically

---

noun

1. a period of swearing

Synonym Usage

See curse.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• swearer
  noun
• reswear
  verb
• swearingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swears
  plural

Participles

• swearing
  present
• sworn
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• swear
  simple
• swears
  simple
• have sworn
  perfect
• has sworn
  perfect
• am swearing
  progressive
• are swearing
  progressive
• is swearing
  progressive
• have been swearing
  perfect progressive
• has been swearing
  perfect progressive

Past

• sware
  simple
• swore
  simple
• had sworn
  perfect
• was swearing
  progressive
• were swearing
  progressive
• had been swearing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will swear
  simple
• will have sworn
  perfect
• will be swearing
  progressive
• will have been swearing
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

swear swears sware swore sworn swearing

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

I swear my hair got bigger, too, but that may have been a coincidence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

To start things off, here are three personal-finance principles that I’ve come to swear by through my own wins and losses.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

It’s been a wild ride for the pair, but despite their snowballing fame, they swear they’re like any other dad and daughter who bicker, joke around and simply enjoy each other’s company.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

As the group walks away, I swear I see Alex take one last look at me.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

An NBA player swears it brought him good luck after devouring it the night before a big game.

From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2026

The U.S. will pick up another South American ally on Tuesday when Peru swears in center-right Keiko Fujimori as president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

“Oh, I have a friend who does that,” “Oh, my cousin swears by it,” I began hearing from people as soon as I started looking for interviewees.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

WSJ | Buy Side: Why one editor swears by this detangling, scalp-massaging shower tool.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

Dad swears Mom’s nose is as cute as ever and I don’t notice anything different about it, but she still touches it gingerly when he starts talking about some big new idea he’s got going.

From "Lawn Boy" by Gary Paulsen

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

I will keep the vow which I sware to him and never shall my deathless loyalty fail.”

From Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Eileen Power

Remember what God has said, 'the Lord thy God is a merciful God, He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.'

From Lily Pearl and The Mistress of Rosedale by Ida Glenwood

Then some tooke vp their hawkes in hast, 145 And some tooke vp their hounds; And some sware they wold not marry her, For citty nor for towne.

From English and Scottish Ballads, Volume I (of 8) by Various

A fly, the dear, little, social innocent, kant make me sware, not even an abreviated dam.

From The Complete Works of Josh Billings by Henry W. Shaw

"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

Some counselors, with straight faces, swore that the A in A&W stood for “alcohol.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

North Korea demolished the South's liaison office in its territory and later swore off all communication with them.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

In that trial, Brambles swore he was the victim of a “tragic mis-identification” while hinting at a conspiracy against him because of a stormy 23-year career.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

“So, is it true that Douglas Fairbanks swore to your father that he would personally chaperone you all the time you were on the set?” she asked with a tilt of her head.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Villanueva added that the number of unfilled sworn positions at the department has risen since he was sheriff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Kiir will remain in office with full constitutional powers until an elected president is sworn in.

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

There could, however, be small steps during the so-called lame-duck session that runs from after the midterms until early January, when a new Congress is sworn in.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026

Lula defeated Jair Bolsonaro and was sworn in Jan. 1, 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Already Sam was sorry that he had solemnly sworn.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

Now, the Los Angeles-area resident says he is swearing off the policies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 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

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

He whined that the singers who pulled out of the state fair are “Third Rate” and promised he would simply headline the event, swearing he is greater than Elvis, even “without a guitar.”

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

There are a few moments of swearing and thumping as Rupert takes the trunk out, then silence settles back over the night.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

Related Words

• affirm
• assert
• depose
• testify
• vow