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. 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.’.

2. Emperor Naruhito:

   I hereby proclaim my enthronement to those at home and abroad, i hereby swear that I will act according to the constitution and fulfill my responsibility as the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people of Japan, while always praying for the happiness of the people and the peace of the world as I stand with the people.

3. Donald Trump:

   I turn down so much money. I feel like such a stupid person, i'll just take a vote. How about if I take all of this money -- and I promise you, I swear to you -- that I won't do anything for these people. How about that?

4. Prime Minister Tony Abbott:

   ... Kneeling before the death cult flag with a knife in his hand and a machete before him one of those arrested said this: 'I swear to almighty Allah, we will carry out the first implementation for the soldiers of the caliphate in Australia', he went on to say ... 'I swear to almighty Allah, blond people, there is no room for blame between you and us. We only are ... stabbing the kidneys and striking the necks’.

5. Nicki Minaj:

   Adele made me swear to secrecy that I'm not allowed to tell anyone that I'm working with her, and that we already shot a video. And it's an epic song ! Ahh !

Images & Illustrations of swear

Popularity rank by frequency of use