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View synonyms for vow
vow
[ vou ]
noun
- a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment:
marriage vows; a vow of secrecy.
- a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service, or condition.
- a solemn or earnest declaration.
verb (used with object)
- to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint:
to vow a crusade or a pilgrimage.
- to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc.:
They vowed revenge.
- to declare solemnly or earnestly; assert emphatically (often followed by a clause as object):
She vowed that she would take the matter to court.
- to dedicate or devote by a vow:
to vow oneself to the service of God.
verb (used without object)
- to make a vow.
- to make a solemn or earnest declaration.
vow
/ vaʊ /
noun
- a solemn or earnest pledge or promise binding the person making it to perform a specified act or behave in a certain way
- a solemn promise made to a deity or saint, by which the promiser pledges himself to some future act, course of action, or way of life
- take vowsto enter a religious order and commit oneself to its rule of life by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which may be taken for a limited period as simple vows or as a perpetual and still more solemn commitment as solemn vows
verb
- tr; may take a clause as object or an infinitive to pledge, promise, or undertake solemnly
he vowed to return
he vowed that he would continue
- tr to dedicate or consecrate to God, a deity, or a saint
- tr; usually takes a clause as object to assert or swear emphatically
- archaic.intr to declare solemnly
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Derived Forms
- ˈvowless, adjective
- ˈvower, noun
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Other Words From
- vower noun
- vowless adjective
- un·vowed adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of vow1
1250–1300; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French vo ( u ) < Latin vōtum, neuter of vōtus, past participle of vovēre to vow
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Word History and Origins
Origin of vow1
C13: from Old French vou, from Latin vōtum a solemn promise, from vovēre to vow
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Idioms and Phrases
Idioms
- take vows, to enter a religious order or house.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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