Definitions for swear
swɛərswear

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. curse, cuss, blaspheme, swear, imprecate(verb)

   utter obscenities or profanities

   "The drunken men were cursing loudly in the street"

2. affirm, verify, assert, avow, aver, swan, swear(verb)

   to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true

   "Before God I swear I am innocent"

3. swear(verb)

   promise solemnly; take an oath

4. swear, depose, depone(verb)

   make a deposition; declare under oath

5. trust, swear, rely, bank(verb)

   have confidence or faith in

   "We can trust in God"; "Rely on your friends"; "bank on your good education"; "I swear by my grandmother's recipes"

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Swear(verb)

   to affirm or utter a solemn declaration, with an appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed; to make a promise, threat, or resolve on oath; also, to affirm solemnly by some sacred object, or one regarded as sacred, as the Bible, the Koran, etc

   Etymology: [OE. swerien, AS. swerian; akin to D. zweren, OS. swerian, OHG. swerien, G. schwren, Icel. sverja, Sw. svrja, Dan. svaerge, Icel. & Sw. svara to answer, Dan. svare, Dan. & Sw. svar an answer, Goth. swaran to swear, and perhaps to E. swarm. 177. Cf. Answer.]

2. Swear(verb)

   to give evidence on oath; as, to swear to the truth of a statement; he swore against the prisoner

   Etymology: [OE. swerien, AS. swerian; akin to D. zweren, OS. swerian, OHG. swerien, G. schwren, Icel. sverja, Sw. svrja, Dan. svaerge, Icel. & Sw. svara to answer, Dan. svare, Dan. & Sw. svar an answer, Goth. swaran to swear, and perhaps to E. swarm. 177. Cf. Answer.]

3. Swear(verb)

   to make an appeal to God in an irreverant manner; to use the name of God or sacred things profanely; to call upon God in imprecation; to curse

   Etymology: [OE. swerien, AS. swerian; akin to D. zweren, OS. swerian, OHG. swerien, G. schwren, Icel. sverja, Sw. svrja, Dan. svaerge, Icel. & Sw. svara to answer, Dan. svare, Dan. & Sw. svar an answer, Goth. swaran to swear, and perhaps to E. swarm. 177. Cf. Answer.]

4. Swear(verb)

   to utter or affirm with a solemn appeal to God for the truth of the declaration; to make (a promise, threat, or resolve) under oath

   Etymology: [OE. swerien, AS. swerian; akin to D. zweren, OS. swerian, OHG. swerien, G. schwren, Icel. sverja, Sw. svrja, Dan. svaerge, Icel. & Sw. svara to answer, Dan. svare, Dan. & Sw. svar an answer, Goth. swaran to swear, and perhaps to E. swarm. 177. Cf. Answer.]

5. Swear(verb)

   to put to an oath; to cause to take an oath; to administer an oath to; -- ofetn followed by in or into; as, to swear witnesses; to swear a jury; to swear in an officer; he was sworn into office

   Etymology: [OE. swerien, AS. swerian; akin to D. zweren, OS. swerian, OHG. swerien, G. schwren, Icel. sverja, Sw. svrja, Dan. svaerge, Icel. & Sw. svara to answer, Dan. svare, Dan. & Sw. svar an answer, Goth. swaran to swear, and perhaps to E. swarm. 177. Cf. Answer.]

6. Swear(verb)

   to declare or charge upon oath; as, he swore treason against his friend

   Etymology: [OE. swerien, AS. swerian; akin to D. zweren, OS. swerian, OHG. swerien, G. schwren, Icel. sverja, Sw. svrja, Dan. svaerge, Icel. & Sw. svara to answer, Dan. svare, Dan. & Sw. svar an answer, Goth. swaran to swear, and perhaps to E. swarm. 177. Cf. Answer.]

7. Swear(verb)

   to appeal to by an oath

   Etymology: [OE. swerien, AS. swerian; akin to D. zweren, OS. swerian, OHG. swerien, G. schwren, Icel. sverja, Sw. svrja, Dan. svaerge, Icel. & Sw. svara to answer, Dan. svare, Dan. & Sw. svar an answer, Goth. swaran to swear, and perhaps to E. swarm. 177. Cf. Answer.]

Freebase(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Swear

   "Swear" was a 1980s pop song by Tim Scott McConnell and released by Sire Records in 1983. The music video to promote the song was a campy/tongue-in-cheek music video of a hippy-based pagan/black mass set in a church. The stylized music video is seemingly a parody of late 1960s to early 1970s hippy horror movies. A bio [link below] from the Tim Scott website states with respect to the "Swear" song that: "This was my young and confused record...I wrote the songs over a couple of weeks on a little Casio keyboard...Sire heard it and offered me a deal...no use appologising for such a thing...my mistake... the good part of it was working with Richard Gottehrer ...really took me under his wing...shame we were working on the wrong kind of music.." "Swear" was covered by Sheena Easton for her 1984 album A Private Heaven. It reached #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the following year.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Swear

   swār, v.i. to affirm, calling God to witness: to give evidence on oath: to utter the name of God or of sacred things profanely.—v.t. to utter, calling God to witness: to administer an oath to: to declare on oath:—pa.t. swōre; pa.p. sworn.—n. Swear′er.—Swear at, to aim profanity at: to be very incongruous with, esp. in colour; Swear by, to put complete confidence in; Swear in, to inaugurate by oath; Swear off, to renounce, promise to give up. [A.S. swerian; Dut. zweren, Ger. schwören.]

British National Corpus

1. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'swear' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2970

2. Verbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'swear' in Verbs Frequency: #661

Anagrams for swear »

1. Sawer

2. Sware

3. Wares

4. Wears

How to pronounce swear?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say swear in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of swear in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of swear in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of swear in a Sentence

1. Marwan Kammoun:

   I'm lost...so lost...I'm not losing...because we are all lost! I swear now you are lost!

2. Judge Kavanaugh:

   I swear today, under oath, before the Senate and the nation, before my family, and God, I am innocent of this charge.

3. Veryan Khan:

   Ever since the Charlie Hebdo attacks ‘avenged’ the prophet, there has been a growing trend to justify terrorist acts, such as this murder, by claiming it was an act of vengeance, just this week in Sinai, Egypt, ISIS released a video titled, ‘We Swear We Will Revenge.’.

4. Mark Twain:

   There ought to be a room in every house to swear in.

5. Abdel Fattah el-Sissi:

   I swear to God if I could be sold ... then I would be sold, field Marshal philosopher with a military background in good shape for sale.

Images & Illustrations of swear

Popularity rank by frequency of use