swear – English verb conjugation

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to swear in sb
Participle: sworn in sb
Gerund: swearing in sb

Cognates

See the 7 cognates of swear

Indicative

Present

I	swear in sb
you	swear in sb
he;she;it	swears in sb
we	swear in sb
you	swear in sb
they	swear in sb

Perfect

I	have sworn in sb
you	have sworn in sb
he;she;it	has sworn in sb
we	have sworn in sb
you	have sworn in sb
they	have sworn in sb

Past

I	swore in sb
you	swore in sb
he;she;it	swore in sb
we	swore in sb
you	swore in sb
they	swore in sb

Pluperfect

I	had sworn in sb
you	had sworn in sb
he;she;it	had sworn in sb
we	had sworn in sb
you	had sworn in sb
they	had sworn in sb

Future

I	will swear in sb
you	will swear in sb
he;she;it	will swear in sb
we	will swear in sb
you	will swear in sb
they	will swear in sb

Future Perfect

I	will have sworn in sb
you	will have sworn in sb
he;she;it	will have sworn in sb
we	will have sworn in sb
you	will have sworn in sb
they	will have sworn in sb

Subjunctive

Present

I	swear in sb
you	swear in sb
he;she;it	swear in sb
we	swear in sb
you	swear in sb
they	swear in sb

Perfect

I	have sworn in sb
you	have sworn in sb
he;she;it	have sworn in sb
we	have sworn in sb
you	have sworn in sb
they	have sworn in sb

Imperfect

I	swore in sb
you	swore in sb
he;she;it	swore in sb
we	swore in sb
you	swore in sb
they	swore in sb

Pluperfect

I	had sworn in sb
you	had sworn in sb
he;she;it	had sworn in sb
we	had sworn in sb
you	had sworn in sb
they	had sworn in sb

Conditional

Present

I	would swear in sb
you	would swear in sb
he;she;it	would swear in sb
we	would swear in sb
you	would swear in sb
they	would swear in sb

Perfect

I	would have sworn in sb
you	would have sworn in sb
he;she;it	would have sworn in sb
we	would have sworn in sb
you	would have sworn in sb
they	would have sworn in sb

Imperative

you	swear in sb
we	Let's swear in sb
you	swear in sb

Indicative

Present

I	am swearing in sb
you	are swearing in sb
he;she;it	is swearing in sb
we	are swearing in sb
you	are swearing in sb
they	are swearing in sb

Perfect

I	have been swearing in sb
you	have been swearing in sb
he;she;it	has been swearing in sb
we	have been swearing in sb
you	have been swearing in sb
they	have been swearing in sb

Past

I	was swearing in sb
you	were swearing in sb
he;she;it	was swearing in sb
we	were swearing in sb
you	were swearing in sb
they	were swearing in sb

Pluperfect

I	had been swearing in sb
you	had been swearing in sb
he;she;it	had been swearing in sb
we	had been swearing in sb
you	had been swearing in sb
they	had been swearing in sb

Future

I	will be swearing in sb
you	will be swearing in sb
he;she;it	will be swearing in sb
we	will be swearing in sb
you	will be swearing in sb
they	will be swearing in sb

Future Perfect

I	will have been swearing in sb
you	will have been swearing in sb
he;she;it	will have been swearing in sb
we	will have been swearing in sb
you	will have been swearing in sb
they	will have been swearing in sb

Conditional

Present

I	would be swearing in sb
you	would be swearing in sb
he;she;it	would be swearing in sb
we	would be swearing in sb
you	would be swearing in sb
they	would be swearing in sb

Perfect

I	would have been swearing in sb
you	would have been swearing in sb
he;she;it	would have been swearing in sb
we	would have been swearing in sb
you	would have been swearing in sb
they	would have been swearing in sb

Verbs conjugated like 'swear'

forswear, outwear, swear, tear, wear,

Verbs similar to 'swear'

sear, shear, skear, smear, spear, stear, sweal, sweat, wear, abear,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to swear; to use offensive language: bad mouth, blaspheme, curse, cuss, execrate, imprecate, swear like a trooper, vilify
vow: avow, promise, warrant, declare, state, testify, depose, affirm
curse: blaspheme, cuss, damn, imprecate

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

~ by something, ~ in somebody, ~ somebody in, ~ off something,

Etymology

1. O.E. swerian "take an oath" (class VI strong verb; past tense swor, pp. sworen), from P.Gmc. *swarjanan, from root *swar- (cf. O.S. swerian, O.N. sverja, Dan. sverge, O.Fris. swera, M.Du. swaren, O.H.G. swerien, Ger. schwören, Goth. swaren "to swear"), from PIE base *swer- "to speak, say" (cf. O.C.S. svara "quarrel"). Also related to the second element in answer. The secondary sense of "use bad language" (c.1430) developed from the notion of "invoke sacred names." Swear-word is Amer.Eng. colloquial from 1883. Swear off "desist as with a vow" is from 1898.
2. From Middle English sweren, swerien, from Old English swerian (“to swear, take an oath of office”), from Proto-West Germanic *swarjan, from Proto-Germanic *swarjaną (“to speak, swear”), from Proto-Indo-European *swer- (“to swear”).
3. Cognate with West Frisian swarre (“to swear”), Saterland Frisian swera (“to swear”), Dutch zweren (“to swear, vow”), Low German swören (“to swear”), sweren, German schwören (“to swear”), Danish sværge, Swedish svära (“to swear”), Icelandic sverja (“to swear”), Russian свара (svara, “quarrel”). Also cognate to Albanian var (“to hang, consider, to depend from”) through Proto-Indo-European.
4. The original sense in all Germanic languages is “to take an oath”. The sense “to use bad language” developed in Middle English and is based on the Christian prohibition against swearing in general (cf. Matthew 5:33-37) and invoking God’s name in particular (i.e. frequent swearing was considered similar to the use of obscene words). See: Middle English 'sweren', Old English 'swerian', Proto-Germanic '*swarjaną', Dutch 'zweren', Low Saxon 'swören', German, old spelling 'schwören', Danish 'sværge', Swedish 'svära', Icelandic 'sverja'.

Verbs referencing "swear"

German, old spelling schwören, Sranan sweri, Ukrainian сварити, Luxembourgish schwieren, Alemannic German schwere, Danish sværge, Sanskrit स्वरति.

Sample Sentences

“ Well, I 've got just as much conscience as any man in business can afford to keep,—just a little, you know, to swear by, as ’ t were, ” said the trader, jocularly; “ and, then, I 'm ready to do anything in reason to ’ blige friends; but this yer, you see, is a leetle too hard on a fellow—a leetle too hard. ” The [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] hitting her exactly between the eyes whenever she attempts to advance an inch. Imagine the ship herself, with every pulse and artery of her huge body swollen and bursting under this maltreatment, sworn to go on or die. Imagine the wind howling, the sea roaring, the rain beating: all in furious array against her. Picture the sky both dark and wild, and the clouds, in fearful sympathy with the [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
Haley ran up and down, and cursed and swore and stamped miscellaneously. Mr. Shelby in vain tried to shout directions from the balcony, and Mrs. Shelby from her chamber window alternately laughed and wondered,—not without some inkling of what [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] to a standstill by any such gentle means, and then taken into custody for not moving on. But there was no confusion or disorder. Our carriage reached the porch in its turn, without any blustering, swearing, shouting, backing, or other disturbance: and we dismounted with as much ease and comfort as though we had been escorted by the whole Metropolitan Force from A to Z inclusive. (American Notes for General Circulation)
[...] seen Death many times,—met him in the way of trade, and got acquainted with him,—and he only thought of him as a hard customer, that embarrassed his property operations very unfairly; and so he only swore that the gal was a baggage, and that he was devilish unlucky, and that, if things went on in this way, he should not make a cent on the trip. In short, he seemed to consider himself an ill-used man, [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] when the wind was adverse. Indeed, the mercury itself is not so variable as this class of passengers, whom you will see, when the ship is going nobly through the water, quite pale with admiration, swearing that the captain beats all captains ever known, and even hinting at subscriptions for a piece of plate; and who, next morning, when the breeze has lulled, and all the sails hang useless in the idle [...] (American Notes for General Circulation)
The men, led by the groans of Tom, scrambled and crackled through stumps, logs and bushes, to where that hero lay groaning and swearing with alternate vehemence. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] Why, the fact is, this concern belonged to a couple of drunken creatures that keep a low restaurant that I have to pass by every day, and I was tired of hearing her screaming, and them beating and swearing at her. She looked bright and funny, too, as if something might be made of her; — so I bought her, and I'll give her to you. Try, now, and give her a good orthodox New England bringing up, and see [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
Adolph, enraged at this taunt, flew furiously at his adversary, swearing and striking on every side of him. The rest laughed and shouted, and the uproar brought the keeper to the door. (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
[...] I saw a crowd about the gate, and heard a child's voice,—and suddenly my Henry broke away from two or three men who were holding him, and ran, screaming, and caught my dress. They came up to him, swearing dreadfully; and one man, whose face I shall never forget, told him that he wouldn't get away so; that he was going with him into the calaboose, and he'd get a lesson there he'd never forget. I tried [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
I just want to... no, I won't be any trouble. I swear. (Grafted)
Yeah. Yeah, but I didn't know about no dead body. I, I didn't kill anybody, I swear. (Once Upon a Time in Hollyweird)
When you sing that thing backstage, it moved me. I swear to God, it moved me. (Standing on the Shoulders of Kitties)

swear – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of swear

Nominal Forms

Cognates

Indicative

Present

Perfect

Past

Pluperfect

Future

Future Perfect

Subjunctive

Present

Perfect

Imperfect

Pluperfect

Conditional

Present

Perfect

Imperative

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Perfect

Past

Pluperfect

Future

Future Perfect

Conditional

Present

Perfect

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'swear'

Verbs similar to 'swear'

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

Verbs referencing "swear"

Sample Sentences