sworn

/swɔːn/

//swɔːn// verb

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

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

The verdict

“sworn” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #8,362. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#8,362
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - past participle of swear

Corpus desk

Index EN-sworn · sworn · English

sworn · rank #8,362 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #8,362
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH sums

Nearest frequency peer: sums (-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 “sworn”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “sworn” 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).

sworn vs swot
60% similar
sworn vs son
60% similar
sworn vs sor
60% similar

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

Key facts for sworn
PropertyValue
Headwordsworn
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/swɔːn/
Letters5
Frequency rank#8,362
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sworn”

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

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “sums” (#8,361), “Tel” (#8,363), “sued” (#8,360). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sworn” is #8,362. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around sworn (IPA /swɔːn/), averb. Corpus frequency is #8,362 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Dominant gloss: "past participle of swear".

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for sworn, with forms such as "sowrn", "ssworn", and "swonr". 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, "swot", "son", "sor", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English sworen, isworen, from Old English sworen, ġesworen, from Proto-West Germanic *swaran, *giswaran, from Proto-Germanic *swaranaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *swarjaną (“to swear”), equivalent to swear + -en. The correct English form is sworn, spelled S-W-O-R-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    past participle of swear

Etymology

From Middle English sworen, isworen, from Old English sworen, ġesworen, from Proto-West Germanic *swaran, *giswaran, from Proto-Germanic *swaranaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *swarjaną (“to swear”), equivalent to swear + -en.

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • sowrn
  • ssworn
  • swonr
  • swornn
  • sworrn
  • swron
  • swworn
  • wsorn

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

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

sowrn2ssworn1swonr2swornn1sworrn1swron2swworn1wsorn2
Edit distance from "sworn"

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 "sworn"?
"sworn" is spelled S-W-O-R-N. The IPA pronunciation is /swɔːn/.
What does "sworn" mean?
As a verb, "sworn" means: past participle of swear
What words are commonly confused with "sworn"?
"sworn" is commonly confused with "swot", "son", "sor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "sworn"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sworn" is /swɔːn/. 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 "sworn"?
From Middle English sworen, isworen, from Old English sworen, ġesworen, from Proto-West Germanic *swaran, *giswaran, from Proto-Germanic *swaranaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic *swarjaną (“to swear”), equivalent to swear + -en. 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 "sworn", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

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

Sudan#8,359stiff#8,357stern#8,356snack#8,351

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

theres8 variantsshaft8 variantsscrap8 variantsaccessed8 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list