swear

♠ swear swear ◙ verb (swore , sworn ) 1. [V] swear (at sb / sth) to use rude or offensive language, usually because you are angry • 咒骂；诅咒；说脏话:

»She fell over and swore loudly.

她摔倒了,大骂了一声。

»Why did you let him swear at you like that?

你怎么让他那么骂你呢？

2. [no passive] to make a serious promise to do sth • 郑重承诺；发誓要；表示决心要 【SYN】 vow : ▪ [VN]

»He swore revenge on the man who had killed his father.

他发誓要向那个杀死他父亲的人报仇。

▪ [V (that)]

»I swear (that) Iˈll never leave you.

我保证决不离开你。

【HELP】ˈThatˈ is usually left out, especially in speech. • * that 常省略,在口语中尤其如此。 ▪ [V to inf]

»She made him swear not to tell anyone.

她要他发誓不告诉任何人。

3. swear (to sb) | swear (on sth) to promise that you are telling the truth • 赌咒发誓地说；肯定地说: ▪ [V (that)]

»She swore (that) sheˈd never seen him before.

她明确表示自己以前从未见过他。

»I could have sworn (= I am sure) I heard the phone ring.

我敢肯定我听见电话铃响了。

▪ [V]

»I swear to God I had nothing to do with it.

我可以对天发誓,这跟我一点关系也没有。

4. swear (on sth) to make a public or official promise, especially in court • (尤指在法庭上)发誓,郑重承诺: ▪ [V]

»Witnesses were required to swear on the Bible.

证人须手按《圣经》宣誓。

▪ [V that]

»Are you willing to stand up in court and swear that you donˈt recognize him?

你愿出庭起誓说你不认识他吗？

▪ [V to inf]

»Remember, you have sworn to tell the truth.

别忘记,你宣过誓要讲实话。

▪ [VN]

»Barons had to swear an oath of allegiance to the king.

贵族须宣誓效忠国王。

5. [VN] swear sb to secrecy / silence to make sb promise not to tell sth to anyone • 使起誓(保密):

»Everyone was sworn to secrecy about what had happened.

关于已发生的事,每个人都依照要求起誓不外传。

--› see also sworn 【IDIOMS】◘ swear ˈblind •(informal) to say that sth is definitely true • 一口咬定 ◘ swear like a ˈtrooper •(old-fashioned, BrE) to often use very rude or offensive language • 满口脏话；动不动就破口大骂 【PHR V】◘ ˈswear by sb / sth 1. to name sb / sth to show that you are making a serious promise • 以…名义发誓；对…发誓:

»I swear by almighty God that I will tell the truth.

我向全能的上帝起誓,我以下所说句句属实。

2. (not used in the progressive tenses 不用于进行时) to be certain that sth is good or useful • 极信赖；对…推崇备至:

»She swears by meditation as a way of relieving stress.

她深信冥想有助于缓解压力。

◘ ˌswear sb∽ˈin ◘ | ˌswear sb ˈinto sth [often passive] • to make sb promise to do a job correctly, to be loyal to an organization, a country, etc. • 使某人宣誓就职；使某人宣誓忠于某组织(或国家等):

»He was sworn in as president.

他宣誓就任总统。

»The new prime minister was sworn into office.

新首相宣誓就职。

--› related noun swearing-in ◘ ˈswear to sth (informal) • to say that sth is definitely true • 一口咬定:

»I think I put the keys back in the drawer, but I couldnˈt swear to it (= Iˈm not completely sure).

我觉得我把钥匙放回抽屉里了,不过我不敢肯定。

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[swєә]

vi. 詛咒

v. 宣誓, 發誓