to break a vow
1
5.0
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk ə vaʊ/
- Formal
:
romper un voto
- The politician faced backlash after breaking a vow to reduce taxes.
Examples
-
He broke a vow, not you.
Fiction book (1995) -
If I told you, I would be breaking a vow of the utmost secrecy.
-
I mean, yea, I broke a vow... ...but what about the other vows?
-
He promised to stay faithful, but he broke a vow to his partner.
-
She felt guilty for breaking a vow she made to help the orphanage.
Synonyms
627
4.4
Break a law, rule, agreement, or promise
79
3.4
Decide not to do something you promised to do
46
4.5
To break a rule, agreement, or promise
33
4.1
Break a promise or agreement
25
8.5
To break a promise or agreement and not do what you said you would do
16
7.2
Fail to do something you promised or agreed to
16
2.6
To fail to do what you said you would do
1
8.4
To officially take back a promise or plan
Take back a promise or support you gave
Fail to do something you promised, often by not paying what you owe
How Committed
- Formal
209
3.5
- Formal
1
5.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to not do what you promised' is directly and compositionally derived from 'break' (to stop, interrupt, or violate) plus 'vow' (a formal pledge); the pattern 'break + [pledge/promise]' is a common, literal verb+noun construction. This collocation is cross-linguistically widespread and follows regular English composition, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
Break a vow comes from the idea that a vow is a strong promise or bond and to break it is like tearing that bond. So, to break a vow means 'to not do what you promised', often in a serious or formal situation.