vow

 Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5++朗文当代英语 5++LDOCE 5++朗文 5++

Related topics: Christianity

vow1 /vaʊ/ ●○○ noun [countable]  1  RRCa serious promise 誓言；誓约 → oath Jim made a vow that he would find his wife’s killer. 吉姆发誓要找到杀害他妻子的凶手。2  a religious promise that you will do something for God, the church etc 〔宗教的〕誓言，誓约 a monk who had taken a vow of poverty 立誓守贫的僧侣3  vows [plural] a) (also marriage/wedding vows) the promises you make during your wedding 婚姻誓约 b) the promises you make when you become a Catholic priest or nun 〔当神父或修女时立下的〕誓言 COLLOCATIONSverbsmake a vow 发誓，立誓I made a vow never to go near the place again. 我发誓再也不走近那个地方。take a vow (=make a vow at a formal ceremony) 〔在正式仪式上〕立下誓约Priests have to take a vow of obedience to the Catholic Church. 神父必须立誓服从天主教会。keep a vow (=do as you promised) 遵守誓言She kept her vow not to tell anyone about their affair. 她恪守誓言，没有向任何人透露他们的情事。break a vow (=fail to do as you promised) 违反誓言She accused him of breaking his marriage vows. 她指责他背弃了婚姻誓约。exchange vows (=make promises to each other as part of a wedding ceremony) 〔婚礼上〕交换誓言nThey wanted to exchange vows before their family and friends.renew your vows (=have a second wedding ceremony to repeat your promises) 重复婚姻誓言nFifty couples celebrated their golden weddings and renewed their vows at a cathedral service in Chicago.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + vowa solemn vow (=a very serious vow, which you must keep) 庄严的誓词He made a solemn vow that he would do everything he could to help her. 他郑重发誓，要尽全力帮助她。marriage/wedding vows 婚姻誓约She wrote her own marriage vows. 她的结婚誓言是她亲自写的。a holy/sacred vow 神圣的誓约nWhen we get married in church we are making sacred vows.phrasesa vow of silence/poverty/celibacy etc 禁语/守贫/禁欲等的誓言People close to him have finally broken their vow of silence. 他身边的人最终都违背了他们的禁语誓言。nbe bound by a vow (=to have promised seriously to do something)She told him she was bound by a vow not to tell any other person.

Examples from the Corpus

vow• She told him that she was bound by a vow not to tell any human being.• The novitiate over, they are permitted to make their first vows.• The exchanging of tokens was, like the exchanging of vows, not to be undertaken lightly.• His marriage to this parish was inviolable in its own sacred vows.• What's more, I had memories from many other lifetimes of taking vows of poverty.• Dole was clearly trying to avoid the trap in which former President Bush found himself after violating the tax vow.• This vow the Cid Campeador made.• After being released from his wedding vows, John joined the Friars Minor.vow2 ●○○ verb [transitive]  1  PROMISEto make a serious promise to yourself or someone else 立誓，起誓(要做) SYN promisevow to do something Supporters have vowed to continue the protest until Adams is released. 支持者立誓一直抗议到亚当斯获释。vow (that) I vowed that I would never drink again. 我发誓绝不再喝酒了。► see thesaurus at promise2. formal to make a religious promise that you will do something for God, the church etc 〔向上帝、教会等〕立誓奉献→ See Verb table

Examples from the Corpus

vow• Legco, the largely toothless legislature, has vowed not to authorise spending for new camps.• Daley vowed that the Police Department would be reformed.• But yesterday she vowed that the tragedy would not ruin their lives.• Cook died in 1940, vowing that time would vindicate him.• On the day she died, I vowed that whatever happened, I would keep you away from them.• Sugar producers hailed the vote while groups opposed to the program vowed they would keep trying to kill it.• Ben vowed to avenge his mother's death.• But a year ago, Putin came to power vowing to crack down on wayward regions.• And they vow to do it all without raising taxes.• City officials vowed to press ahead with the appointment process by interviewing the finalists and naming a chief Feb. 2.vow (that)• I vowed that I would never drink again.Origin vow1 (1200-1300) Old French vou, from Latin votum; → VOTE2

vow1 noun →COLLOCATIONS1vow2 verbLDOCE OnlineChinese  

a promise serious Corpus

vow

I

vow¹ /vaʊ/ noun [countable]1. a serious promise ⇨ oath:
    Jim made a vow that he would find his wife’s killer.
2. a religious promise that you will do something for God, the church etc:
    a monk who had taken a vow of poverty
3. vows [plural]
  a. (also marriage/wedding vows) the promises you make during your wedding
  b. the promises you make when you become a Catholic priest or nun
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs
   ▪ make a vow I made a vow never to go near the place again.
   ▪ take a vow (=make a vow at a formal ceremony) Priests have to take a vow of obedience to the Catholic Church.
   ▪ keep a vow (=do as you promised) She kept her vow not to tell anyone about their affair.
   ▪ break a vow (=fail to do as you promised) She accused him of breaking his marriage vows.
   ▪ exchange vows (=make promises to each other as part of a wedding ceremony) They wanted to exchange vows before their family and friends.
   ▪ renew your vows (=have a second wedding ceremony to repeat your promises) Fifty couples celebrated their golden weddings and renewed their vows at a cathedral service in Chicago.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + vow
   ▪ a solemn vow (=a very serious vow, which you must keep) He made a solemn vow that he would do everything he could to help her.
   ▪ marriage/wedding vows She wrote her own marriage vows.
   ▪ a holy/sacred vow When we get married in church we are making sacred vows.
■ phrases
   ▪ a vow of silence/poverty/celibacy etc People close to him have finally broken their vow of silence.
   ▪ be bound by a vow (=to have promised seriously to do something) She told him she was bound by a vow not to tell any other person.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ promise a statement that you will definitely do or provide something, which may not be reliable: ‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’ ‘Is that a promise?’ | Politicians are always making promises.
   ▪ pledge a public or official promise to do a particular thing in the future: The Government has fulfilled at least 50% of its election pledges. | We have received pledges of help from various organizations.
   ▪ vow a very serious promise to do something or not to do something that you choose to make: He made a vow never to drink alcohol again. | your marriage vows
   ▪ oath a formal promise, especially one that someone makes in a court of law: Witnesses swear a solemn oath to tell the truth. | Public officials must take an oath to support the US Constitution.
   ▪ undertaking a serious or public promise to do something, especially something difficult which needs a lot of effort or money: The police have given an undertaking to reduce street crime in the city centre. | He was made to sign a written undertaking that he would not go within a mile of her house.
   ▪ assurance a promise that something will happen or is true, made so that someone is less worried or more confident: You have my assurance that it won’t happen again. | The manager gave me his personal assurance that the goods would be delivered today.
   ▪ guarantee a very definite promise that something will happen. A guarantee is also a formal written promise by a company to repair or replace a product free if it has a fault within a fixed period of time.: With any diet, there’s no guarantee of success. | I’m afraid I can’t give you a 100% guarantee. | Is the camera still under guarantee (=within the period during which it can be repaired or replaced free)?

II

vow² verb [transitive]
1. to make a serious promise to yourself or someone else
   SYN  promise
    vow to do something
    Supporters have vowed to continue the protest until Adams is released.
    vow (that)
    I vowed that I would never drink again.
2. formal to make a religious promise that you will do something for God, the church etc
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ promise to tell someone that you will definitely do something, or that something will happen: He promised to give the book back. | The organisers have promised that this year’s event will take place.
   ▪ swear to make a very serious and sincere promise, for example in a law court: He had sworn to tell the truth. | I would never do that, I swear.
   ▪ give somebody your word especially spoken to promise sincerely that you will do something or that something is true – often used when you are trying to persuade someone that they can trust you: I give you my word that your money is safe with me. | I’ll let you go out tonight if you give me your word that you’ll be home by 11.
   ▪ vow to make a very serious promise, often to yourself: She vowed that she would never drink alcohol again. | They vowed to carry on their campaign for justice.
   ▪ assure to promise someone that something will happen or that something is true, in order to try to make them feel less worried: Police have assured the public that they are doing everything they can to find the killer.
   ▪ guarantee to promise that you will make sure that something will definitely happen, so that there is no question of it not happening: I guarantee that you will have the documents by tomorrow. | How can you guarantee that this won’t happen again?
   ▪ pledge to promise publicly or officially that you will do something, for example to give help or money: The government has pledged to increase overseas aid to $4 billion over the next five years.
   ▪ undertake formal to make an official or legal promise to do something: The government undertook to keep price increases to a minimum. | The two sides undertook to respect each other’s territory.
   ▪ commit to something formal to make a firm and definite promise to do something important, which will affect you for a long time and which could result in serious effects if you fail: Bobby felt unready to commit to a romantic relationship. | A group of 11 companies has committed to developing a new passenger plane.