swear at

present singular third person swears at · participle present swearing at · past swore at · participle past sworn at

1. colloquialdatedtransitiveTo be disagreeably incongruous with, especially in colour; to clash.

   […] in several instances there was another and quite a different red in the gown, which “swore” at its relative on the parasol.

   1885, Truth, volume 18, page 109

   1 more example

   Coal-scuttle poke-bonnets, short and scanty skirts, huge splay feet arrayed in indescribable shoes and boots, colours which swore at each other - these were the outward and visible signs of the British fair of that day.

   1978, Fanny Kemble, Eleanor Ransome, The Terrific Kemble: A Victorian Self-Portrait

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see swear, at.

   One protester was arrested after swearing at a police officer.