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

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 ... that I will faithfully carry out the duties of president of the republic," Peru's ninth president in a decade stated before Congress.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

The agents on the scene attest to one set of facts; some witnesses swear the opposite.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

"I swear this has only happened to me once before."

From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026

“I swear I saw Ivan with you when you walked up.”

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Vincent swears dogs can be trained to do anything, like open the refrigerator.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

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

From Salon ● Jun. 15, 2026

When the next president swears an oath to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” he undertakes both to obey the Constitution and to remove threats to it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 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

Or Juan, who swears at himself every time he makes a tiny mistake in the kitchen.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

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

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

That i wont sware enny, unless i am put under oath.

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

Be strong and of a good courage: for thou shalt cause this people to inherit the land which I sware unto their fathers to give them.

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

Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.

From The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Genesis by Marcus Dods

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

Platner, in damage-control mode, acknowledged that he was occasionally a lousy boyfriend but denied any sort of physical abuse, swore that he has cleaned up his act, and pledged that no more skeletons will emerge.

From Slate ● Jun. 6, 2026

The 23 senators present donned maroon velvet robes Monday and swore to "do impartial justice according to the constitution and the laws of the Philippines" at the trial.

From Barron's ● May 18, 2026

Waiting for answers since she was a child and her mother swore she saw a UFO, Loperena is still more than enthused about the government's decision to make the release.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

And Ophie quietly swore to herself that she would never make eye contact with the ghosts on the trolley again.

From "Ophie's Ghosts" by Justina Ireland

The US has pledged £1bn in assistance to Colombia, after the country's new right-wing president was sworn in on Friday.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

It described sworn testimony from the so-called talent agent that he had never spoken to either Griffin or the Jane Doe, whom the lawsuit names as Joleene Altum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

Two weeks later, the union representing more than half of sworn personnel gave Nanos a vote of “no confidence.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

“That conduct will never be tolerated among the ranks of those sworn to protect and serve.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

“Not unless he’s ever been a sworn member of a pirate’s crew. Both recipes are secrets of the pirates’ brotherhood.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood

The decision by Wetherspoons follows a stricter, longstanding policy from rival pub chain Sam Smiths which bans no phone or tech use of any kind, in addition to a ban on swearing.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

At his swearing in he promised to usher in a "reform-oriented" era, with plans to change how much the Fed communicates and to reduce the size of its balance sheet.

From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 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

Since swearing off first-date coffees and drinks two years ago, Murthy has gone out with fewer men overall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

He began to see that Grover was directing the slither — not by craning his neck and putting on his blinker and swearing, but simply by glancing, passing, glancing, passing.

From "Typical American" by Gish Jen

Related Words

• affirm
• assert
• depose
• testify
• vow