What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Prey vs Swear - What's the difference?

prey | swear |

As nouns the difference between prey and swear

is that prey is (archaic) anything, as goods, etc, taken or got by violence; anything taken by force from an enemy in war; spoil; booty; plunder while swear is a swearword.

As a verb swear is

to take an oath or swear can be to be lazy; rest for a short while during working hours.

As an adjective swear is

heavy.

prey

English

Noun

  • (archaic) Anything, as goods, etc., taken or got by violence; anything taken by force from an enemy in war; spoil; booty; plunder.
  • * Bible, Numbers xxxi. 12
    • And they brought the captives, and the prey , and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest.
  • That which is or may be seized by animals or birds to be devoured; hence, a person given up as a victim.
  • * Dryden
    • Already sees herself the monster's prey .
  • * Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
    • [The helmsman] steered with no end of a swagger while you were by; but if he lost sight of you, he became instantly the prey of an abject funk
  • A living thing that is eaten by another living thing.
  • * Bible, Job iv. ii
    • The old lion perisheth for lack of prey .
  • * {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= William E. Conner
    • , title= An Acoustic Arms Race , volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Nonetheless, some insect prey take advantage of clutter by hiding in it. Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
  • The act of devouring other creatures; ravage.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Hog in sloth, fox in stealth, lion in prey .
  • The victim of a disease.

    • Related terms

    * prey on

    References

    *

    Anagrams

    *

    swear

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) sweren, swerien, from (etyl) through Proto-Indo-European.

    Verb

  • To take an oath.
  • *
  • *:The Bat—they called him the Bat.. He'd never been in stir, the bulls had never mugged him, he didn't run with a mob, he played a lone hand, and fenced his stuff so that even the fence couldn't swear he knew his face.
  • (lb) To use offensive language.
    • Synonyms
    * See also
    Usage notes
    * In sense 1, this is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See
    Synonyms
    * See also
    Derived terms
    * swear by * swear like a trooper * swear on a stack of Bibles * swear out * swear to God * swear word

    Etymology 2

    From the above verb, or from (etyl) sware, from (etyl) swaru, from (etyl) .

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A swearword.

    • Etymology 3

    From (etyl) swer, swar, from (etyl) .

    Alternative forms

    * (l), (l), (l)

    Adjective

    (en-adj)
  • Heavy.
  • Top-heavy; too high.
  • Dull; heavy; lazy; slow; reluctant; unwilling.
  • Niggardly.
  • A lazy time; a short rest during working hours (especially field labour); a siesta.
    • Derived terms
    * (l) * (l) * (l)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To be lazy; rest for a short while during working hours.

    • Anagrams

    * English irregular verbs English reporting verbs