swear

v., swore (swôr, swōr), sworn (swôrn, swōrn), swear·ing, swears.

v.intr.

1. To make a solemn declaration, invoking a deity or a sacred person or thing, in confirmation of and witness to the honesty or truth of such a declaration.
2. To make a solemn promise; vow.
3. To use profane oaths; curse.
4. Law. To give evidence or testimony under oath.

v.tr.

1. To declare or affirm solemnly by invoking a deity or a sacred person or thing.
2. To promise or pledge with a solemn oath; vow: He swore his oath of allegiance to the queen. See synonyms at promise.
3. To utter or bind oneself to (an oath).
4. Law. To administer a legal oath to: All the witnesses have been sworn.
5. To say or affirm earnestly and with great conviction.

n.

A swearword.

phrasal verbs:

swear at

1. To use abusive, violent, or blasphemous language against; curse.

swear by

1. To have great reliance on or confidence in: He swears by his personal physician.
2. To have reliable knowledge of; be sure of: I think she left early, but I couldn't swear by it.
3. To take an oath by: He swore by all the angels and saints of heaven.

swear in

1. To administer a legal or official oath to: swear in a mayor.

swear off Informal.

1. To pledge to renounce or give up: She has sworn off cigarettes.

swear out Law.

1. To obtain (a warrant for arrest) by making a charge under oath.

[Middle English sweren, from Old English swerian.]

swearer swear'er n.

also swear off

verb

1. To guarantee by a solemn promise: covenant, pledge, plight², promise, vow. Idioms: give one's word of honor. See agree/disagree, obligation.
2. To use profane or obscene language: blaspheme, curse, damn. Informal cuss. See decent/indecent, sacred/profane, words.
3. To give evidence or testimony under oath: attest, testify, witness. Law depone, depose. Idioms: bear witness, take the stand. See law.

phrasal verb - swear off

To cease trying to accomplish or continue: abandon, break off, desist, discontinue, give up, leave off, quit, relinquish, remit, stop. Slang lay off. Idioms: call it a day, call it quits, hang up one's fiddle, have done with, throw in the towel. See continue/stop/pause.

v

To take an oath; to become legally obligated by an oath properly administered.

IN BRIEF: v. -Promise solemnly.

My fair one, let us swear an eternal friendship. — Jean Baptiste Moliere, Source: Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, 1670, act IV, sc. i

Common misspelling(s) of swear

• swaer

Dansk (Danish)
v. intr. - bande, sværge
v. tr. - sværge, bande, besværge, bekræfte

idioms:

• swear blind    sværge blindt
• swear by    sværge ved, sværge til
• swear in    tage i ed, lade aflægge embedsløfte, edfæste
• swear like a trooper    bande som en havnearbejder
• swear off    forsværge
• swear word    bandeord, kraftudtryk, ed

Nederlands (Dutch)
zweren, vloeken, beëdigen

Français (French)
v. intr. - (gén, Jur) jurer, faire jurer le secret, prêter serment, pester contre, injurier, jurer, lâcher un juron, jurer d'avoir fait, jurer sur (Bible, l'honneur)
v. tr. - (gén, Jur) jurer, faire jurer le secret, prêter serment, pester contre, injurier

idioms:

• swear at    pester contre
• swear blind    jurer sur sa tête que
• swear by    ne jurer que par
• swear in    faire prêter serment à, prêter serment
• swear like a trooper    jurer comme un charretier
• swear off    renoncer à
• swear out    (US, Jur) accuser qn sous serment
• swear word    juron, gros mot

Deutsch (German)
v. - schwören, einen Eid ablegen, fluchen, vereidigen

idioms:

• swear at    beschimpfen
• swear blind    Stein und Bein schwören
• swear by    (ugs.) schwören auf
• swear in    vereidigen
• swear like a trooper    fluchen wie ein Fuhrmann
• swear off    abschwören
• swear out    (AmE) gegen jmdn. durch eine eidliche [Straf]anzeige einen Haftbefehl erwirken
• swear word    Fluch

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - ορκίζομαι, βλαστημώ, βρίζω, δηλώνω ενόρκως
n. - εξύβριση, βρίσιμο, βλαστήμια, βρισιά

idioms:

• swear blind    ορκίζομαι σε ό, τι έχω ιερό
• swear by    ορκίζομαι στο όνομα τού..
• swear in    εγκαθιστώ με ορκωμοσία, ορκίζω κατά την ανάληψη καθηκόντων
• swear like a trooper    βρίζω σαν βαρκάρης
• swear off    απαρνιέμαι ή αποκηρύσσω με (όρκο)
• swear word    βλαστήμια

Italiano (Italian)
giurare, imprecare, bestemmiare, far prestare giuramento a

idioms:

• swear blind    affermare enfaticamente
• swear by    giurare su, essere sicuro
• swear in    far prestare giuramento a
• swear off    rinunciare solennemente
• swear word    oscenità

Português (Portuguese)
v. - jurar

idioms:

• swear blind    juramento enfático
• swear by    jurar por
• swear in    fazer juramento
• swear off    renunciar
• swear word    palavrão

Русский (Russian)
клятва, присяга, принятие присяги, клясться, приводить к присяге, давать показания под присягой, ругаться, богохульствовать, сквернословить

idioms:

• swear blind    клясться, честное слово
• swear by    молиться на кого-л., безгранично верить кому-л. или во что-л.
• swear in    приводить к присяге при вступлении в должность
• swear off    отказываться (от чего-л.)
• swear word    ругательство, бранное слово

Español (Spanish)
v. intr. - jurar, renegar, echar maldiciones, prestar testimonio, declarar
v. tr. - jurar, pronunciar un juramento, tomar juramento, juramentar

idioms:

• swear at    maldecir
• swear blind    afirmar enfáticamente
• swear by    jurar por, fiarse enteramente de, afirmar bajo juramento
• swear in    juramentar, tomar juramento a
• swear like a trooper    blasfemar como un carretero
• swear off    prometer o jurar renunciar a
• swear out    asegurarse (una orden de arresto) acusando bajo juramento
• swear word    palabrota, taco

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - svära, bedyra, låta gå ed, avlägga ed
n. - svärande, svordomar, eder

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
发誓, 诅咒, 宣誓, 骂脏话, 发, 发誓要, 宣, 起誓保证

idioms:

• swear blind    坚持地发誓
• swear by    对...发誓, 信赖
• swear in    使宣誓就职
• swear like a trooper    大骂
• swear off    发誓戒除
• swear word    臭骂, 坏话, 诅咒

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
v. intr. - 發誓, 詛咒, 宣誓, 罵髒話
v. tr. - 發, 發誓要, 宣, 起誓保證

idioms:

• swear blind    堅持地發誓
• swear by    對...發誓, 信賴
• swear in    使宣誓就職
• swear like a trooper    大罵
• swear off    發誓戒除
• swear word    臭罵, 壞話, 詛咒

한국어 (Korean)
v. intr. - 맹세하다, 선서하다, ~에게 심한 말을 하다
v. tr. - 맹세하다, 선서하다, 단언하다

idioms:

• swear by    ~에 맹세하다, ~에 선서하다
• swear in    선서하고 취임 시키다
• swear off    끊겠다고 맹세하다, ~을 딱 끊다

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 誓う, 断言する, 誓わせる, 汚いことばを使う, 神の名を汚す
n. - 宣誓

idioms:

• swear blind    厳粛に誓う
• swear by    …にかけて誓う, 信じ切っている, 信じきる
• swear in    所定の宣誓をさせる, 宣誓就任させる
• swear like a trooper    激しくののしる
• swear off    誓って断つ
• swear word    のろい言葉

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يقسم , يحلف , يسب , يشتم (الاسم) القسم , حلفان اليمين , شتيمه‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. intr. - ‮נשבע, הצהיר בתוקף‬
v. tr. - ‮השביע, השביע (לתפקיד), קילל, ניבל פיו‬

If you are unable to view some languages clearly, click here.

To select your translation preferences click here.