Library / English Dictionary

SWEAR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: swore    , sworn   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Have faith or confidence in

Example:

Depend on your family in times of crisis

Synonyms:

bank; bet; calculate; count; depend; look; reckon; rely; swear

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "swear" is one way to...):

trust (have confidence or faith in)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Utter obscenities or profanities

Example:

The drunken men were cursing loudly in the street

Synonyms:

blaspheme; curse; cuss; imprecate; swear

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "swear" is one way to...):

express; give tongue to; utter; verbalise; verbalize (articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise)

Verb group:

blaspheme (speak of in an irreverent or impious manner)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Derivation:

swearer (someone who uses profanity)

swearing (profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Promise solemnly; take an oath

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "swear" is one way to...):

vow (make a vow; promise)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something to somebody
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE
Somebody ----s to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They swear to move

Also:

swear off (promise to abstain from)

Derivation:

swearer (someone who takes a solemn oath)

Sense 4

Meaning:

To declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true

Example:

Before God I swear I am innocent

Synonyms:

affirm; assert; aver; avow; swan; swear; verify

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "swear" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "swear"):

hold (assert or affirm)

claim; take (lay claim to; as of an idea)

attest (authenticate, affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity)

declare (state firmly)

protest (affirm or avow formally or solemnly)

assure; tell (inform positively and with certainty and confidence)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Sentence example:

They swear that there was a traffic accident

Derivation:

swearer (someone who takes a solemn oath)

swearing (a commitment to tell the truth (especially in a court of law); to lie under oath is to become subject to prosecution for perjury)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Make a deposition; declare under oath

Synonyms:

depone; depose; swear

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "swear" is one way to...):

declare (state emphatically and authoritatively)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s that CLAUSE

Derivation:

swearing (a commitment to tell the truth (especially in a court of law); to lie under oath is to become subject to prosecution for perjury)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Holmes continued his swift investigation of documents while his prisoner cursed and swore.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I swore off then, and you know me as a man of my word, Tregellis.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Utterson, I swear to God, cried the doctor, I swear to God I will never set eyes on him again.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

"Absent from me a whole month, and forgetting me quite, I'll be sworn!"

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“That I say, and that I swear!”

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Perrault looked at his watch and swore.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

"Whatever it is, I can swear that it is of importance to us," said I. "I could read that on his face as he gave it."

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

That upon coming nearer, and finding his error, he sent out his long-boat to discover what it was; that his men came back in a fright, swearing they had seen a swimming house.

(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)

The dog-musher swore softly, in awe-stricken accents.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Then the wolf was very angry, and called Sultan “an old rogue,” and swore he would have his revenge.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)