vow

[vou]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR vow ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment: marriage vows; a vow of secrecy.

a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service, or condition.

a solemn or earnest declaration.

verb (used with object)

to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint: to vow a crusade or a pilgrimage.

to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc.: They vowed revenge.

to declare solemnly or earnestly; assert emphatically (often followed by a clause as object): She vowed that she would take the matter to court.

to dedicate or devote by a vow: to vow oneself to the service of God.

verb (used without object)

to make a vow.

to make a solemn or earnest declaration.

Idioms

take vows, to enter a religious order or house.

Origin of vow

1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French vo(u) < Latin vōtum, neuter of vōtus, past participle of vovēre to vow

Related formsvow·er, nounvow·less, adjectiveun·vowed, adjective

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

Related Words for vow

oath, pledge, assertion, assure, swear, promise, declare, affirm, profession, asseveration, troth, affiance, covenant, devote, dedicate, testify, vouch, consecrate, plight, warrant

Examples from the Web for vow

Contemporary Examples of vow

Kenyatta made a Bush-like vow to continue the war on Al-Shabab, saying, “We will not flinch.”
Al-Shabab’s Anti-Christian Slaughter
Margot Kiser
December 3, 2014
He made the vow on June 30, and I remember thinking at the time how strange it seemed.
Immigration Reform? Not Until Hillary
Michael Tomasky
September 8, 2014
Hamas spokesmen stand by the hospital gates and denounce the attack on Al Shejaiya as a massacre and vow to fight on.
Palestinians Fleeing Israeli Bombardment in Gaza Have ‘Nowhere Left to Run’
Jesse Rosenfeld
July 20, 2014
Everything he stands for at the moment, and his soaring popularity in Russia, hinges on his vow to protect Russian speakers.
Is This the Day Odessa Explodes?
Will Cathcart
May 8, 2014
They vow to meet after the war--home by Christmas--for a reunion at their Berlin bar.
‘Generation War’ Lets World War II Germans Off Too Easily
Jack Schwartz
January 26, 2014

Historical Examples of vow

The quality of sincerity in Dick's voice was more convincing than any vow might have been.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
And it was true I could have snatched the meat from her like a wolf, but because of my vow I would not.
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
I brought sickness on the village, and on you hunger and the breaking of your vow.'
The Trail Book
Mary Austin
Who had exacted from her so strange a vow, that, although he might be very dear to her, she was never to let him know it?
The Dream
Emile Zola
The student of nature in all the ages has taken the vow of poverty.
The Call of the Twentieth Century
David Starr Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for vow

vow

noun

a solemn or earnest pledge or promise binding the person making it to perform a specified act or behave in a certain way

a solemn promise made to a deity or saint, by which the promiser pledges himself to some future act, course of action, or way of life

take vows to enter a religious order and commit oneself to its rule of life by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which may be taken for a limited period as simple vows or as a perpetual and still more solemn commitment as solemn vows

verb

(tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive) to pledge, promise, or undertake solemnlyhe vowed that he would continue; he vowed to return

(tr) to dedicate or consecrate to God, a deity, or a saint

(tr; usually takes a clause as object) to assert or swear emphatically

(intr) archaic to declare solemnly

Derived Formsvower, nounvowless, adjective

Word Origin for vow

C13: from Old French vou, from Latin vōtum a solemn promise, from vovēre to vow

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 vow

c.1300, from Anglo-French and Old French vou, from Latin votum "a vow, wish, promise, dedication," noun use of neuter of votus, past participle of vovere "to promise solemnly, pledge, dedicate, vow," from PIE root *ewegwh- "to speak solemnly, vow" (cf. Sanskrit vaghat- "one who offers a sacrifice;" Greek eukhe "vow, wish," eukhomai "I pray").

c.1300, from Old French vouer, from vou (see vow (n.)). Related: Vowed; vowing.