vowed

1. 1
   verb

   Past participle of vow.

   He had vowed to repay every cent he borrowed.

   By spring the survivors had vowed to rebuild their ruined town.

   Note

   The form that follows have, as in they have vowed, and builds the passive, as in revenge was vowed. Its spelling matches the simple past, so only the auxiliary tells them apart: she vowed is past, and she has vowed is perfect. Because vow can take an object, the public, retaliatory use of the verb often appears here. Placed before a noun, the participle settles into the adjective for solemn undertakings.

2. 2
   adjective

   Pledged by a solemn vow or taken on because of one, as a knight's allegiance or a nun's silence.

   The knight remained true to his vowed allegiance even in exile.

   Her vowed silence within the order lasted nearly forty years.

   Similarsworn, promised

   Note

   An adjective that cannot be graded. An undertaking is either vowed or it is not, so nothing is more vowed than another. It usually stands before its noun, as in vowed allegiance and vowed silence. It leans toward the language of religious orders, where a vow binds a person to a way of living. Promised can describe any undertaking, while vowed carries the solemnity of a vow.

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