Dictionary

swearing en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• audio

Etymology

From Middle English swerynge; equivalent to swear + -ing.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The 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, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

swearing jar · swearing-in · hard swearing · swearing contest · forswearing

Relateds

swearword

Synonyms

vituperation · cuss · foul language · dirty word · billingsgate · profanity · invective · swear · swear word · vulgarity · cussword · expletive · oath · blasphemy · obscenity · curse · imprecation · industrial language · French · malediction · four letter word

Translations (7)

enm swerynge (the act of making an oath) · ga mallachtach (the act of making an oath) · de Fluchen (the act of making an oath) · it giuramento (the act of making an oath) · mi oatitanga (the act of making an oath) · hy հայհոյում (the act of making an oath) · bg заклеване (the act of making an oath)

swearing en · VERB

Pronunciation

• audio

Etymology

From Middle English swerynge; equivalent to swear + -ing.

Meanings

1. (form-of, gerund, participle, present) present participle and gerund of swear
   form 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:

Deriveds

nonswearing · swearingly