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” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #2,968 in English word frequency and used as a verb.

#2,968
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To take an oath, to promise intensely, solemnly, and/or with legally binding effect.

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)

Where “swear” sits in English frequency

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for swear is 5 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈswɛə(ɹ)/. Corpus data places it at rank #2,968 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 5 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

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.

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.

Using “swear”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is S-W-E-A-R - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈswɛə(ɹ)/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “sweet” - see the side-by-side comparison. swear vs sweet
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list