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

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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

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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

Make a rule and set an amount, whether it’s $5,000 or $10,000, and solemnly swear that no one moves more than that amount without telling the other.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2026

“I solemnly swear allegiance to my Fatherland, the Russian Federation,” read the stocky 17-year-old, decked out in a fresh military uniform with a rifle slung across his shoulder.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

"Such is our word, such is our oath. I swear!"

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

"She was saying, 'Don't let go'. And I didn't let go of my daughter. I swear, I didn't let her go," Bicer said.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

“Well, blast! It looks like a full moon to me. I could swear it’s a day early. But what’s it doing in the garden?”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

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

From Salon ● Sep. 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

Strickland, who is Hilton’s campaign chair, swears that he and his former colleagues didn’t plan to take their crusade statewide, but “when you do a great job, other opportunities present themselves.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026

“The idea that no gentleman ever swears is all wrong,” Mark Twain said in a speech on taxes and morals.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

She found a man face down in a pool of night rain in her yard and swears it’s Javier del Pino, although her eyesight is no longer so good.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

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

And Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan: and Saul sware, "As the Lord liveth, he shall not be put to death."

From Heroes of Israel Text of the Hero Stories with Notes and Questions for Young Students by Theodore Gerald Soares

I sware to thee, my lord bishop, that unwitting did I wrong the maiden.

From A Maid at King Alfred?s Court by Lucy Foster Madison

The Lord knew that Israel was His, yet for their unrighteousness He sware in His wrath that they should not enter into His rest.

From The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Exodus by G. A. Chadwick

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

As the company expanded and acquired other small manufacturers, the Gunds swore off layoffs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

"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

Adams swore to the end that he was “one of the most honorable, decent cops I have ever met,” and she had met--and tested--a lot of cops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

A warmth emanated from him that Ekon swore he could almost feel, even feet away.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

It marked the first time a Quebec premier was sworn in without a representative of the British monarchy present.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

During the course of his sworn testimony, Williams was shown a number of internal military documents by the inquiry's lawyers.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Online sources indicate that the district’s school police department currently has about 270 sworn officers, 61 non-sworn safety officers and 40 civilian staff members.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

A university the size of Utah Valley University needs more than 13 sworn staff, the report found.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

He couldn't tell about Anastasia's code because he had solemnly sworn.

From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry

Father and son were grateful, said Matson, swearing him to secrecy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Recent footage of young women swearing during a protest in India has sparked an unusual debate: are expletives worse when they come from women?

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 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

The ex-Manchester mayor was clapped and cheered as some 200 Labour MPs welcomed him back to parliament after a nine-year absence for his swearing in on Monday, hours after Starmer tendered his resignation.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

“Mercy, Maud,” said Mother, which was the closest she ever came to swearing, too.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

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Related Words

• affirm
• assert
• depose
• testify
• vow

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