oath
/əʊθ
/noun (plural oaths /əʊðz/)
1A solemn promise, often invoking a divine witness, regarding one’s future action or behaviour: they took an oath of allegiance to the king...
- From early days the taking of solemn religious oaths was regarded as an essential part of the political and social order.
- For a few moments the couple find themselves in church or in the registry office watched by their closest family and friends, publicly swearing what amounts to a solemn oath of allegiance to each other.
- Each individual undergoing treatment takes a solemn oath to change their behavior.
Synonyms
vow, sworn statement, promise, pledge, avowal, affirmation, attestation, word of honour, word, bond, guarantee, guaranty
archaic troth
1.1A sworn declaration, such as the promise to tell the truth, in a court of law: each took the oath and then gave evidence...
- But he could have given a statement to the court without swearing an oath, an option not pursued by his inexperienced lawyer.
- Other than the preliminary vetting by the trial judge, there is a challenge for cause, peremptory challenges and the oath of the juror.
- One of the sisters, Brenda, sobbed as she took the oath before giving evidence and when asked how close she was to her.
2A profane or offensive expression used to express anger or other strong emotions: he exploded with a mouthful of oaths he was muttering foul oaths...
- His oaths and anger had obviously offended Tori.
- Shakespeare knew a thing or two about cursing - Hamlet is essentially a play about swearing and oaths, and in The Tempest, Caliban was taught language but learned to curse his master.
- Cue for groans and muttered oaths from my neighbors, and that was before they'd stepped out on to Madison, where New York's finest were out in force, checking identities and blocking off half the streets of midtown.
Synonyms
swear word, profanity, expletive, four-letter word, dirty word, obscenity, imprecation, curse, malediction, blasphemy;
vulgarism, vulgarity;
swearing, bad/foul language, strong language
informal cuss, cuss word
Phrases
my oath
under (or on) oath
Origin
Old English āth, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch eed and German Eid.