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

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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

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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

But some workers swear by mouse docks, like one made by Tech8 USA, that keep cursors moving.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Maybe I’m loopy, but I’d even swear the entrance to Billy’s screening room has a handmade mural of the Roku City screensaver.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

Walker added Cricket was well-known for "keeping his act clean" in a time where some of the clubs would not have allowed any type of crude language or swear words.

From BBC ● 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

I swear I heard Michael humming one of the blessings under his breath as he counted up paper chain links a couple of days ago.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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

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

He swears to USA Today that he tries to “make wise decisions and moral decisions.”

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

He's also invested in an AI-powered electrical bed cover that cools down or heats up based on your body temperature, that he swears by for improving sleep.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 2026

Recently, Malcolm decided that Gina has to pay twenty-five cents every time she swears.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

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

Sho call’d the Furies to her aid,    An Diræ’s names sho us’d, An sware if I hed spocken t’truth,    Sho hed been sore abus’d.

From Random Rhymes and Rambles by William Aldis Wright

And Moses declares the same: “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 True Christianity by Johann Arndt

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

She meant, "Unto whom I sware in my wrath," and the rest.

From Charles Auchester, Volume 1 of 2 by Elizabeth Sheppard

"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

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

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Jouppi swore he had no idea; bush pilots do not rummage through their passengers’ bags.

From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026

“I signed, I swore allegiance, and it was all over.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Babulya yelled in the language she had brought with her from her homeland, those seaside southern mountains that Anya swore she would see someday.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

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

The courts were told this in a sworn statement from a senior officer, a deputy director called Witness A.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The Police Commission said in a statement that it is still waiting on the report, adding that “fair and equitable hiring of sworn and civilian employees remains a priority.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Having sworn never to be taken back to slavery alive—or to let that happen to anyone else—he had organized an armed self-defense force of black neighbors to fend off slave catchers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

She’d been reluctant to take the boy on, but the social worker was a trusted friend, and he’d sworn up and down that the boy would be helpful.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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

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

Branding himself "The Tiger," the candidate has a penchant for swearing and is known for his hot temper.

From Barron's ● May 25, 2026

“I was on my knees before her, swearing my allegiance, but she mistook me for my brother, Jaime, and fed me to her dragons.”

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

Related Words

• affirm
• assert
• depose
• testify
• vow