forswear

English

Alternative forms

• foreswear

Etymology

From Middle English forsweren, from Old English forswerian (“to swear falsely”). Cognate with Old Saxon farswerian, Old High German farsweren, German verschwören. More at for- +‎ swear.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fə(ɹ)ˈswɛə(ɹ)/, /fɔː(ɹ)ˈswɛə(ɹ)/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛə(ɹ)

Verb

forswear (third-person singular simple present forswears, present participle forswearing, simple past forswore, past participle forsworn)

1. (transitive) To renounce or deny something, especially under oath.

   Synonym: swear off

   We forswear allegiance and support for the Economic Freedom Fighters.

   • 1592, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew:

     Never to woo her more; but do forswear her.

   • 1726, John Dryden, translating Juvenal, Satires‎:

     Like Innocence, and as serenely bold / As Truth, how loudly He forswears thy Gold!.

   • 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 198:

     Long since he had given up every intention of returning to civilization, and now he had decided to see no more his black friends of the Waziri. He had forsworn humanity forever. He had started life an ape—as an ape he would die.

   • 1995, Philip Roth, Sabbath's Theater‎:

     Either forswear fucking others or the affair is over.

   • 2008, Philip Roth, Indignation:

     The sheer unimaginableness of coming into her mouth — of coming into anything other than the air or a tissue or a dirty sock — was an allurement too stupendous for a novice to forswear.

2. (intransitive or reflexive) To commit perjury; to break an oath.

   Synonyms: perjure, manswear, misswear

Derived terms

• forswearer

Translations

to renounce or deny something, especially under oath

Bulgarian: отричам под клетва (otričam pod kletva) Dutch: ontkennen (nl), afzweren (nl) French: nier (fr), démentir (fr), abjurer (fr) Galician: renegar German: abschwören (de), entschieden bestreiten, strikt ablehnen, verzichten (de) Greek: επιορκώ (el) (epiorkó) Polish: wyrzekać się impf, wyrzec się pf, wypierać się impf, wyprzeć się pf Russian: отрека́ться (ru) n (otrekátʹsja) Turkish: yemin etmek (tr)

to commit perjury

Bulgarian: лъжесвидетелствам (lǎžesvidetelstvam) Dutch: meineed plegen French: parjurer (fr) German: Meineid begehen Greek: ψευδορκώ (el) (psevdorkó) Maori: oati teka Polish: popełniać krzywoprzysięstwo impf, popełnić krzywoprzysięstwo pf Russian: лжесвиде́тельствовать (ru) n (lžesvidételʹstvovatʹ) Turkish: yalan yere yemin etmek

Anagrams

• forwears