Word
sworn
US/ˈswɔɹn/
UK/swˈɔːn/
Definitions
01under legal oath
adj. promised or stated officially and legally, usually in a court of law.
adj. given or declared under a formal or legal oath, ensuring the truth of the statement.
“The witness provided a sworn statement to the police about what she saw.”
“The attorney submitted a sworn affidavit to the court, asserting that the evidence had been tampered with before the trial began.”
Formal
Usage
Usually placed before the noun it describes.
Synonyms
Antonyms
02determined enemies
adj. describing people who have promised to be enemies or to disagree forever.
adj. bound as if by an oath to a particular state of relationship, most commonly used with 'enemies'.
“The two families have been sworn enemies for many generations.”
“Despite being sworn enemies in the political arena, the two senators maintained a surprising level of mutual respect in private.”
Usage
Almost exclusively used in the collocation 'sworn enemies'.
Real-World Examples
“Hichilema is due to be sworn in for a second term on 1 September.” “Will Declan find out his wife Maud slept with his sworn enemy?” 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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/sworn