sworn

1. 1
   adjective

   Given or declared under a formal oath, especially in a legal setting.

   The judge reviewed the sworn statements before ruling.

   A sworn affidavit carries legal weight in any courtroom.

   Oppositeunsworn

   Note

   Here the oath is literal: a sworn statement really was made under oath, and that is what gives it weight before a judge. The adjective sits before its noun and does not grade, since nothing is more sworn than something else. Keep it apart from the figurative "bound" meaning, where no oath was ever taken.

2. 2
   adjective

   Bound to a person, cause, or position as firmly as if held there by an oath.

   The rival generals were sworn enemies until the truce.

   She remained a sworn defender of the old traditions.

   Similaravowed, bitter

   Note

   Most at home after a verb and followed by to, as in sworn to secrecy, where the speaker is held to a duty as if under oath. Shakespeare's The Tempest (1610–1611) shows an older turn: "I can swim like a duck, I'll be sworn." There the phrase means "I'll swear to it" and backs up a boast. It sounds theatrical now, but readers of older English will meet it often.

3. 3
   verb

   Past participle of swear.

   The new officers were sworn into office this morning.

   He had sworn never to return to the city.

   Note

   A strong-verb participle with the old -en ending, carried down from Old English sworen. It takes have in the perfect (he had sworn never to return) and be in the passive. The passive is most common when someone else administers the oath: new officers are sworn in. The simple past is a different form, swore, so "I have swore" is a slip.

4. 4
   adjective

   Deeply committed and devoted, as an ardent believer or follower.

   A sworn vegetarian, he refused even the smallest taste of meat.

   They were sworn supporters of the reform movement.

   Similarcommitted, devoted, staunch, dedicated, ardent

   Oppositehalfhearted, lukewarm

   Note

   Only the force of an oath survives here, and no promise is implied at all. It stands before a noun of allegiance or enmity (a sworn foe, a sworn socialist) and marks the attachment as settled and unshakable. The "bound" meaning still pictures someone held to a duty. This one simply describes a fixed conviction.

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