forswear
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to reject or renounce under oath.
to forswear an injurious habit.
- Synonyms:
- abandon, forsake, forgo, relinquish, abjure
-
to deny vehemently or under oath.
-
to perjure (oneself ).
verb (used without object)
verb
-
(tr) to reject or renounce with determination or as upon oath
-
(tr) to deny or disavow absolutely or upon oath
he forswore any knowledge of the crime
-
to perjure (oneself)
Other Word Forms
- forswearer noun
Etymology
Origin of forswear
First recorded before 900; Middle English forsweren, Old English forswerian; for-, swear
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He said this would be the "challenge for this year" as he urged leaders to "forswear wedge issues" that render their opponents their enemies.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2023
Breaking character is necessary to help Birds Aren’t Real leap to the next level and forswear actual conspiracy theorists, he said.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 9, 2021
But some FDA watchers say those steps are not enough and that the agency should forswear use of an emergency authorization for a vaccine.
From Washington Post • Sep. 22, 2020
Lesbian identity does not require that its adherents forswear all sexual and romantic encounters they’ve ever had with men, just as bisexual identity does not require that people date men and women in equal measure.
From Slate • Mar. 21, 2018
Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
