to break a vow
1
5.0
- phrasal verb
- /breɪk ə vaʊ/
- Formal
- 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
630
4.4
Break a law, rule, agreement, or promise
112
3.4
Decide not to do something you promised to do
41
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
17
7.2
Fail to do something you promised or agreed to
15
4.5
To break a rule, agreement, or promise
12
2.6
To fail to do what you said you would do
1
8.4
To officially take back a promise or plan
1
9.4
Fail to do something you promised, often by not paying what you owe
1
7.1
Take back a promise or support you gave
How Committed
- Formal
221
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.