swear
[verb]
Synonyms:
- curse, be foul-mouthed, blaspheme
- declare, affirm, assert, attest, promise, testify, vow

---

Related Idioms: swear on a stack of Bibles, swear to God, swear up and down, chew the dirty rag, curse and swear, fall a-cursing, let out religion, make the air blue, rip (or rap) out an oath, swear like a sailor (or trooper), use language
Related Words: blaspheme, rail, rant, abuse, revile, vilify, vituperate

---

English Thesaurus: promise, pledge, vow, oath, undertaking, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

swear S2 /sweə $ swer/ verb (past tense swore /swɔː $ swɔːr/, past participle sworn /swɔːn $ swɔːrn/)
[Word Family: verb: swear; noun: swearing; adjective: sworn]
[Language: Old English; Origin: swerian]

1. OFFENSIVE LANGUAGE [intransitive] to use rude and offensive language:
Don’t swear in front of the children.
swear at
He turned round and swore at me.

2. PROMISE [transitive] to promise that you will do something
swear (that)
Victor swore he would get his revenge.
swear to do something
Mona swore never to return home.
Do you swear on your honour (=promise very strongly) that you will never tell anyone?

3. STATE THE TRUTH [intransitive and transitive] informal to say very strongly that what you are saying is true:
I never touched your purse, I swear!
swear (that)
He says he was there all the time, but I swear I never saw him.
swear blind British English (=say very strongly)
She swore blind that she had never seen him before.
I never touched her, I swear to God.
I think it was about ten o'clock when we left, but I couldn’t swear to it (=I am not certain).

4. somebody could have sworn (that) ... used to say that someone was sure about something but now they think they were wrong:
I could have sworn I had my keys.

5. PUBLIC PROMISE [intransitive and transitive] to make a public official promise, especially in a court of law
swear on
Witnesses have to swear on the Bible.
Remember that you have sworn an oath and so must tell the truth.
Presidents must swear allegiance to the US constitution.

6. swear somebody to secrecy/silence to make someone promise not to tell anyone what you have told them
—swearing noun [uncountable]:
He was cautioned for swearing.
lots of shouting and swearing

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

swear
verb
I. use bad language
ADV. loudly | quietly, silently, softly, under your breath | viciously, violently
VERB + SWEAR hear sb He heard her swear under her breath.
PREP. at He swore loudly at her and left.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

swear
II. make a serious promise
ADV. solemnly He swore solemnly that he would never hit her again.
on oath
VERB + SWEAR be prepared to I would be prepared to swear on oath that they didn't see me.
make sb He made her swear on the Bible that she wouldn't leave him.
PREP. by I swear by Almighty God to tell the truth.
to I swear to you, I don't know anything.
PHRASES swear sb to secrecy/silence We were all sworn to secrecy about the plan.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

promise a statement that you will definitely do or provide something, which may not be reliable:
‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’ ‘Is that a promise?’
Politicians are always making promises.
pledge a public or official promise to do a particular thing in the future:
The Government has fulfilled at least 50% of its election pledges.
We have received pledges of help from various organizations.
vow a very serious promise to do something or not to do something that you choose to make:
He made a vow never to drink alcohol again.
your marriage vows
oath a formal promise, especially one that someone makes in a court of law:
Witnesses swear a solemn oath to tell the truth.
Public officials must take an oath to support the US Constitution.
undertaking a serious or public promise to do something, especially something difficult which needs a lot of effort or money:
The police have given an undertaking to reduce street crime in the city centre.
He was made to sign a written undertaking that he would not go within a mile of her house.
assurance a promise that something will happen or is true, made so that someone is less worried or more confident:
You have my assurance that it won’t happen again.
The manager gave me his personal assurance that the goods would be delivered today.
guarantee a very definite promise that something will happen. A guarantee is also a formal written promise by a company to repair or replace a product free if it has a fault within a fixed period of time.:
With any diet, there’s no guarantee of success.
I’m afraid I can’t give you a 100% guarantee.
Is the camera still under guarantee (=within the period during which it can be repaired or replaced free)?
swear to make a very serious and sincere promise, for example in a law court:
He had sworn to tell the truth.
I would never do that, I swear.
give somebody your word especially spoken to promise sincerely that you will do something or that something is true – often used when you are trying to persuade someone that they can trust you:
I give you my word that your money is safe with me.
I’ll let you go out tonight if you give me your word that you’ll be home by 11.
assure to promise someone that something will happen or that something is true, in order to try to make them feel less worried:
Police have assured the public that they are doing everything they can to find the killer.
undertake formal to make an official or legal promise to do something:
The government undertook to keep price increases to a minimum.
The two sides undertook to respect each other’s territory.
commit to something formal to make a firm and definite promise to do something important, which will affect you for a long time and which could result in serious effects if you fail:
Bobby felt unready to commit to a romantic relationship.
A group of 11 companies has committed to developing a new passenger plane.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

promise to tell someone that you will definitely do something, or that something will happen:
He promised to give the book back.
The organisers have promised that this year’s event will take place.
swear to make a very serious and sincere promise, for example in a law court:
He had sworn to tell the truth.
I would never do that, I swear.
give somebody your word especially spoken to promise sincerely that you will do something or that something is true – often used when you are trying to persuade someone that they can trust you:
I give you my word that your money is safe with me.
I’ll let you go out tonight if you give me your word that you’ll be home by 11.
vow to make a very serious promise, often to yourself:
She vowed that she would never drink alcohol again.
They vowed to carry on their campaign for justice.
assure to promise someone that something will happen or that something is true, in order to try to make them feel less worried:
Police have assured the public that they are doing everything they can to find the killer.
guarantee to promise that you will make sure that something will definitely happen, so that there is no question of it not happening:
I guarantee that you will have the documents by tomorrow.
How can you guarantee that this won’t happen again?
pledge to promise publicly or officially that you will do something, for example to give help or money:
The government has pledged to increase overseas aid to $4 billion over the next five years.
undertake formal to make an official or legal promise to do something:
The government undertook to keep price increases to a minimum.
The two sides undertook to respect each other’s territory.
commit to something formal to make a firm and definite promise to do something important, which will affect you for a long time and which could result in serious effects if you fail:
Bobby felt unready to commit to a romantic relationship.
A group of 11 companies has committed to developing a new passenger plane.
have a guarantee
All our boots have a one-year guarantee for being waterproof.
come with/carry a guarantee
The building work comes with a 30-year guarantee.
a one-year/two-year etc guarantee
Our clocks carry a five-year guarantee.
a money-back guarantee (=one that gives you back the money you paid if there is a problem)
The company offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee on all its products.
a lifetime guarantee (=one that lasts as long as the object your have bought)
The binoculars are covered against manufacturing faults by a lifetime guarantee.
a full guarantee (=one that covers all problems)
A full guarantee comes with every purchase.
oath a formal promise, especially one that someone makes in a court of law:
Witnesses swear a solemn oath to tell the truth.
Public officials must take an oath to support the US Constitution.
undertaking a serious or public promise to do something, especially something difficult which needs a lot of effort or money:
The police have given an undertaking to reduce street crime in the city centre.
He was made to sign a written undertaking that he would not go within a mile of her house.
assurance a promise that something will happen or is true, made so that someone is less worried or more confident:
You have my assurance that it won’t happen again.
The manager gave me his personal assurance that the goods would be delivered today.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

promise to tell someone that you will definitely do something, or that something will happen:
He promised to give the book back.
The organisers have promised that this year’s event will take place.
swear to make a very serious and sincere promise, for example in a law court:
He had sworn to tell the truth.
I would never do that, I swear.
give somebody your word especially spoken to promise sincerely that you will do something or that something is true – often used when you are trying to persuade someone that they can trust you:
I give you my word that your money is safe with me.
I’ll let you go out tonight if you give me your word that you’ll be home by 11.
vow to make a very serious promise, often to yourself:
She vowed that she would never drink alcohol again.
They vowed to carry on their campaign for justice.
assure to promise someone that something will happen or that something is true, in order to try to make them feel less worried:
Police have assured the public that they are doing everything they can to find the killer.
guarantee to promise that you will make sure that something will definitely happen, so that there is no question of it not happening:
I guarantee that you will have the documents by tomorrow.
How can you guarantee that this won’t happen again?
pledge to promise publicly or officially that you will do something, for example to give help or money:
The government has pledged to increase overseas aid to $4 billion over the next five years.
undertake formal to make an official or legal promise to do something:
The government undertook to keep price increases to a minimum.
The two sides undertook to respect each other’s territory.
commit to something formal to make a firm and definite promise to do something important, which will affect you for a long time and which could result in serious effects if you fail:
Bobby felt unready to commit to a romantic relationship.
A group of 11 companies has committed to developing a new passenger plane.
make a promise
I made a promise to my mother that I’d look after Dad.
keep a promise (also fulfil a promise British English, fulfill a promise American English formal) (=do what you promised to do)
She said she would come back, and she kept her promise.
The mayor has fulfilled his promise to get tough on corruption.
break a promise (=not do what you promised to do)
Once again, the government has broken its promises.
go back on your promise (=break it)
They were angry that the company had gone back on its promise.
renege on a promise formal (=break it)
It is tempting for the government to renege on its promise.
have sb’s promise (=they have promised you something)
‘It’ll remain a secret?’ ‘Yes, you have my promise.’
hold somebody to their promise (=make them keep it)
The next day, Gareth held me to my promise to take him fishing.
a solemn promise
As governor, I made a solemn promise to defend the laws of the Republic.
a firm promise (=definite)
What had happened to all those firm promises of help?
a vague promise (=not definite)
Larry made some vague promises to leave his wife.
a false/empty/hollow promise (=one that will not be kept)
I didn’t make any false promises.
a broken promise (=one that has not been kept)
There have been too many broken promises.
a campaign/election promise
He was accused of breaking a campaign promise not to raise taxes.
show promise (=seem likely to be good or successful)
She showed promise as a singer at an early age.
hold promise (=seem likely to be good or successful – used of things)
The Internet clearly held great promise as an educational tool.
fulfil your/its promise (also live up to your/its promise) (=be as good as expected)
This young player has begun to fulfil his promise.
The rest of this movie never quite lives up to the promise of that opening moment.
great promise
He’d initially shown great promise as a goalkeeper.
early promise
Tracey showed early promise in mathematics.
oath a formal promise, especially one that someone makes in a court of law:
Witnesses swear a solemn oath to tell the truth.
Public officials must take an oath to support the US Constitution.
undertaking a serious or public promise to do something, especially something difficult which needs a lot of effort or money:
The police have given an undertaking to reduce street crime in the city centre.
He was made to sign a written undertaking that he would not go within a mile of her house.
assurance a promise that something will happen or is true, made so that someone is less worried or more confident:
You have my assurance that it won’t happen again.
The manager gave me his personal assurance that the goods would be delivered today.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲