swear – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of swear

Nominal Forms

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

Cognates

See the 7 cognates of swear

Indicative

Present

Iswear sb in
youswear sb in
he;she;itswears sb in
weswear sb in
youswear sb in
theyswear sb in

Perfect

Ihave sworn sb in
youhave sworn sb in
he;she;ithas sworn sb in
wehave sworn sb in
youhave sworn sb in
theyhave sworn sb in

Past

Iswore sb in
youswore sb in
he;she;itswore sb in
weswore sb in
youswore sb in
theyswore sb in

Pluperfect

Ihad sworn sb in
youhad sworn sb in
he;she;ithad sworn sb in
wehad sworn sb in
youhad sworn sb in
theyhad sworn sb in

Future

Iwill swear sb in
youwill swear sb in
he;she;itwill swear sb in
wewill swear sb in
youwill swear sb in
theywill swear sb in

Future Perfect

Iwill have sworn sb in
youwill have sworn sb in
he;she;itwill have sworn sb in
wewill have sworn sb in
youwill have sworn sb in
theywill have sworn sb in

Subjunctive

Present

Iswear sb in
youswear sb in
he;she;itswear sb in
weswear sb in
youswear sb in
theyswear sb in

Perfect

Ihave sworn sb in
youhave sworn sb in
he;she;ithave sworn sb in
wehave sworn sb in
youhave sworn sb in
theyhave sworn sb in

Imperfect

Iswore sb in
youswore sb in
he;she;itswore sb in
weswore sb in
youswore sb in
theyswore sb in

Pluperfect

Ihad sworn sb in
youhad sworn sb in
he;she;ithad sworn sb in
wehad sworn sb in
youhad sworn sb in
theyhad sworn sb in

Conditional

Present

Iwould swear sb in
youwould swear sb in
he;she;itwould swear sb in
wewould swear sb in
youwould swear sb in
theywould swear sb in

Perfect

Iwould have sworn sb in
youwould have sworn sb in
he;she;itwould have sworn sb in
wewould have sworn sb in
youwould have sworn sb in
theywould have sworn sb in

Imperative

youswear sb in
weLet's swear sb in
youswear sb in

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

Iam swearing sb in
youare swearing sb in
he;she;itis swearing sb in
weare swearing sb in
youare swearing sb in
theyare swearing sb in

Perfect

Ihave been swearing sb in
youhave been swearing sb in
he;she;ithas been swearing sb in
wehave been swearing sb in
youhave been swearing sb in
theyhave been swearing sb in

Past

Iwas swearing sb in
youwere swearing sb in
he;she;itwas swearing sb in
wewere swearing sb in
youwere swearing sb in
theywere swearing sb in

Pluperfect

Ihad been swearing sb in
youhad been swearing sb in
he;she;ithad been swearing sb in
wehad been swearing sb in
youhad been swearing sb in
theyhad been swearing sb in

Future

Iwill be swearing sb in
youwill be swearing sb in
he;she;itwill be swearing sb in
wewill be swearing sb in
youwill be swearing sb in
theywill be swearing sb in

Future Perfect

Iwill have been swearing sb in
youwill have been swearing sb in
he;she;itwill have been swearing sb in
wewill have been swearing sb in
youwill have been swearing sb in
theywill have been swearing sb in

Conditional

Present

Iwould be swearing sb in
youwould be swearing sb in
he;she;itwould be swearing sb in
wewould be swearing sb in
youwould be swearing sb in
theywould be swearing sb in

Perfect

Iwould have been swearing sb in
youwould have been swearing sb in
he;she;itwould have been swearing sb in
wewould have been swearing sb in
youwould have been swearing sb in
theywould have been swearing sb in

Other

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

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)