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Synonyms

swear off

British  

verb

  1. (intr, preposition) to promise to abstain from something

    to swear off drink
"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
swear off Idioms  

  1. Pledge to renounce or give up, as in I've sworn off cigarettes. This expression was first used for abjuring liquor in the first half of the 1800s but has since been broadened to just about anything.

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.

In its recent presentation to the KeyCorp board of directors, HoldCo said the bank should swear off acquisitions and instead buy back stock.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025

One of the first ads, according to The Cut, was a commercial that showed a woman attempting to "swear off dating" and become a nun.

From Salon • May 15, 2024

Does that make the food unpalatable enough to swear off?

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 17, 2023

That led to nearly a year of depression and mental health struggles — a turn of events that made him permanently swear off those kinds of stunts despite his love of doing them.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 6, 2023

Ralph’s circular talking would make a kid want to swear off talking to adults for the rest of his life.

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.