swear

/ˈswɛə(ɹ)/

//ˈswɛə(ɹ)// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"swear" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“swear” has 7 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #2,968. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#2,968
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To take an oath, to promise intensely, solemnly, and/or with legally binding effect.

Corpus desk

Index EN-swear · swear · English

swear · rank #2,968 · 7 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #2,968
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 7 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH suspect

Nearest frequency peer: suspect (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “swear”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “swear” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

swear vs sweet
60% similar
swear vs sweat
80% similar
swear vs sweep
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for swear
PropertyValue
Headwordswear
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ˈswɛə(ɹ)/
Letters5
Frequency rank#2,968
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “swear”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).swearlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “suspect” (#2,967), “statements” (#2,966), “tie” (#2,970). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “swear” is #2,968. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 7 spelling variants around swear (IPA /ˈswɛə(ɹ)/), averb. Corpus frequency is #2,968 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 5 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for swear, with forms such as "sewar", "sswear", and "swaer". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "sweet", "sweat", "sweep", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”). Cognate with West Frisian… The correct English form is swear, spelled S-W-E-A-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    To take an oath, to promise intensely, solemnly, and/or with legally binding effect.
  2. 2
    To take an oath that an assertion is true.
  3. 3
    To promise intensely that something is true; to strongly assert.
  4. 4
    To administer an oath to (a person).
  5. 5
    To use offensive, profane, or obscene language.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how swear appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The knight swore not to return to the palace until he had found the treasure.
  2. The witness swore that the person she had seen running out of the bank was a foot shorter than the accused.

Etymology

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”). 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. 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).

Synonyms

swearblasphemecursecurse like a pagancurse like a troopercurse like a sailorcusseff and blindeff and jeffexecrateimprecateswear like a cutterswear like a paganswear like a trooperswear like a sailorturn the air bluevilify

Antonyms

mind one's language

This word in other languages

jurar(Español)jurer(Français)schwören(Deutsch)jurar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sewar
  • sswear
  • swaer
  • swearr
  • swera
  • swwear
  • wsear

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of swear - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

sewar2sswear1swaer2swearr1swera2swwear1wsear2
Edit distance from "swear"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "swear"?
"swear" is spelled S-W-E-A-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈswɛə(ɹ)/.
What does "swear" mean?
As a verb, "swear" means: To take an oath, to promise intensely, solemnly, and/or with legally binding effect.
What words are commonly confused with "swear"?
"swear" is commonly confused with "sweet", "sweat", "sweep". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "swear"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "swear" is /ˈswɛə(ɹ)/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "swear"?
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”). Cognate with We... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "swear", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trend#2,972quote#2,963yards#2,976bread#2,981

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (7 here; floor ≥5).

loans7 variantsexact7 variantsGreek7 variantsMiller7 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list