What does "forswear" mean?

To renounce or deny something, especially under oath.

How do you pronounce "forswear"?

Pronounced //fə(ɹ)ˈswɛə(ɹ)//.

Forswear

Q: What is a synonym for "forswear"?

Common synonyms include: abjure, abjure, abandon, abdicate, acknowledge defeat, assert the contrary.

//fə(ɹ)ˈswɛə(ɹ)// verb

verb ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Verb

1
To renounce or deny something, especially under oath. transitive
"We forswear allegiance and support for the Economic Freedom Fighters."
2
formally reject or disavow a formerly held belief, usually under pressure wordnet
3
To commit perjury; to break an oath. intransitive, reflexive

Synonyms

All synonyms

abjure abjure abandon abdicate acknowledge defeat assert the contrary

Example

More examples

"We forswear allegiance and support for the Economic Freedom Fighters."

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.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.