verb

forswear

for-SWAIR/fɔːrˈswer/

To solemnly promise to give up or reject something.

The woman forswears smoking with a raised hand as she discards her cigarettes.

A solemn, witnessed renunciation of smoking: a woman raises her right hand in an oath gesture while emptying her cigarettes into a wastebasket, rather than merely declining an offered cigarette.

Etymology

The intensive prefix joins a verb for taking an oath. The compound already meant 'renounce on oath' in Old English, so its modern sense of formal rejection preserves the force of a solemn declaration.

In context

FRONTLINE PBS | Official47:07

to forswear Western ideals like constitutional democracy human rights freedom of the press and Civil Society

China, the U.S. & the Rise of Xi Jinping (full documentary) | FRONTLINE

More examples

He solemnly forswears alcohol after years of heavy drinking.
She has forsworn gambling and asks her friends for support.
They take an oath to forswear all claims to the estate.

Forms

forswear · forswears · forswore · forsworn · forswearing

Similar words

renounce: Emphasizes formally rejecting something, not necessarily making a promise.
abstain: Means refraining from something, without necessarily making a solemn promise.
forsake: Emphasizes abandoning someone or something rather than pledging rejection.