avow

/əˈvaʊ/

Other forms: avowed; avowing; avows

When you avow something, you say it openly for the whole world to hear. If you're a witness in a trial, you'll be asked to take an oath in which you'll avow that you'll tell the truth.

A simple way to remember the meaning of avow is that it sounds and looks a whole lot like "a vow," to which it's closely related. At the end of almost every wedding, the couple takes their vows, in which they avow their commitment to each other. To take a vow is to avow the things that you say in that vow. Be sure that you mean what you say when you avow something, because people will hold you to it. And don't mutter or mumble. That's no way to avow something.

Definitions of avow

1. verb

   declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
   synonyms: affirm, assert, aver, swan, swear, verify

   types:

   hold

   assert or affirm

   claim, take

   lay claim to; as of an idea

   attest

   authenticate; affirm to be true, genuine, or correct, as in an official capacity

   declare

   state firmly

   protest

   affirm or avow formally or solemnly

   assure, tell

   inform positively and with certainty and confidence

   type of:

   declare

   state emphatically and authoritatively
2. verb

   admit openly and bluntly; make no bones about
   synonyms: avouch

   antonyms:

   disavow

   refuse to acknowledge; disclaim knowledge of; responsibility for, or association with

   type of:

   acknowledge, admit

   declare to be true or admit the existence or reality or truth of