Meanings
- gerundparticiplepresentpresent participle and gerund of swear
Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "oaths" and "swearing" itself.
2013 June 14, Sam Leith, “Where the profound meets the profane”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 37
plural swearings
- countableuncountablehuman sciencesThe act of swearing, or making an oath.
No man is believed a jot the more for all the asseverations, damnings, and swearings he makes.
1693 (date written), D. F. [pseudonym; Daniel Defoe], An Essay upon Projects, London: […] R. R. for Tho[mas] Cockerill, […], published 1697, →OCLCSynonyms: billingsgate, blasphemy, curse, cuss, cussword, expletive, imprecation, invective
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe act of swearing, or making an oath.
More synonyms by meaning
nounprofane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
nouna commitment to tell the truth (especially in a court of law); to lie under oath is to become subject to prosecution for perjury
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle Englishswerynge
- Englishswearing
From Middle English swerynge; equivalent to swear + -ing.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian заклеване
- заклеване (zaklevane)the act of making an oath
German Fluchen
- Fluchenthe act of making an oath
Irish mallachtach
- mallachtachthe act of making an oath
Italian giuramento
- giuramentothe act of making an oath
Māori oatitanga
- oatitangathe act of making an oath
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with swearing
Anagrams
Cite this entry
swearing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swearing
“swearing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swearing. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “swearing,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/swearing.
Source: swearing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.