sworn

[swawrn, swohrn]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sworn ON THESAURUS.COM

verb

past participle of swear.

adjective

having taken an oath: a duly elected and sworn official.

bound by or as if by an oath or pledge.

avowed; affirmed: He is my sworn enemy.

swear

[swair]

verb (used without object), swore or (Archaic) sware; sworn; swear·ing.

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

to bind oneself by oath.

to give evidence or make a statement on oath.

to use profane oaths or language: Don't swear in front of the children.

verb (used with object), swore or (Archaic) sware; sworn; swear·ing.

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

to affirm, assert, or say with solemn earnestness.

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

to testify or state on oath: He swore it on the witness stand.

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

to bind by an oath: to swear someone to secrecy.

Verb Phrases

swear by,

to name (a sacred being or thing) as one's witness or guarantee in swearing.
Informal.to have great confidence in; rely on: He swears by his dentist.
to have certain knowledge of: I thought I saw him leaving, but I couldn't swear by it.

swear in, to admit to office or service by administering an oath: A new president will be sworn in today.

swear off, to promise or resolve to give up something, especially intoxicating beverages.

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

Origin of swear

before 900; Middle English sweren, Old English swerian; cognate with German schwören, Old Norse sverja; akin to Gothic swaran to swear; see answer

Related formsswear·er, nounswear·ing·ly, adverbre·swear, verb, re·swore, re·sworn, re·swear·ing.un·der·swear·er, noun

Synonyms for swear

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR swear ON THESAURUS.COM

1. declare, affirm, avow. 3. depose, testify. 4. imprecate.

Synonym study

4. See curse.

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

Related Words for sworn

confirmed, bound, affirmed

Examples from the Web for sworn

Contemporary Examples of sworn

But these must be proven under a signed and sworn statement and judged reasonable by the DOH.
No More Paper Prescriptions: Docs Fight Fraud by Going Electronic
Dale Eisinger
December 18, 2014
Some secrets, it seems, must be kept even from elected representatives who could still be sworn to secrecy.
After Torture Report, Our Moral Authority As a Nation Is Gone
Nick Gillespie
December 11, 2014
Her agency had to take her out of the country that very evening after it was made clear that the servant had sworn to kill her.
Afghanistan, We Hardly Knew You
Jonathan Foreman
December 8, 2014
The capital of Chechnya, Grozny, was attacked Thursday by insurgents who may have sworn allegiance to ISIS.
Recession? Devaluation? Inflation? Putin Tells Russia Stay the Course.
Anna Nemtsova
December 4, 2014
But this week, even as a new cabinet was sworn in, the Houthis showed no signs of honoring their commitment to demobilize.
Yemen’s a Model All Right—For Disaster
Michael Shank , Casey Harrity
November 14, 2014

Historical Examples of sworn

He tried to swear Edith and me to secrecy, but we refused to be sworn.
Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus
Jessie Graham Flower
Suddenly he remembered that he had also sworn to put Carlotta out of his life.
K
Mary Roberts Rinehart
For my part, I should have been deceived this time, and sworn that the two were but one.
The Imaginary Invalid
Molire
She was then fighting, fighting with all her power against odds, for her sworn duty.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
I've sworn more in a week since you left us, than I ever swore in my life before!
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine

British Dictionary definitions for sworn

sworn

verb

the past participle of swear

adjective

bound, pledged, or made inveterate, by or as if by an oatha sworn statement; he was sworn to God

swear

verb swears, swearing, swore or sworn

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

(foll by by)

to invoke (a deity, etc) by name as a witness or guarantee to an oath
to trust implicitly; have complete confidence (in)

(intr often foll by at) to curse, blaspheme, or use swearwords

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

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

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

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

swear blind informal to assert emphatically

noun

a period of swearing

Derived Formsswearer, noun

Word Origin for swear

Old English swerian; related to Old Norse sverja, Gothic swaran, Old Frisian swera, German schwören

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

Word Origin and History for sworn

swear

Old English swerian "take an oath" (class VI strong verb; past tense swor, past participle sworen), from Proto-Germanic *swarjan-, (cf. Old Saxon swerian, Old Norse sverja, Danish sverge, Old Frisian swera, Middle Dutch swaren, Old High German swerien, German schwören, Gothic swaren "to swear"), from PIE root *swer- (1) "to speak, talk, say" (cf. Old Church Slavonic svara "quarrel"). Also related to the second element in answer. The secondary sense of "use bad language" (early 15c.) developed from the notion of "invoke sacred names." Swear-word is American English colloquial from 1883. Swear off "desist as with a vow" is from 1898.