Meaning & use
oath of allegiance
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableformallegal
A formal spoken promise to be loyal to a country, ruler or government.
Grammar: Often used with take or swear: take an oath of allegiance.
Patterns
- take an oath of allegiance
- swear an oath of allegiance to someone
New citizens take an oath of allegiance at the ceremony.
Soldiers swear an oath of allegiance to the nation when they enlist.
He refused to sign the oath of allegiance.
Word forms
| plural | oaths of allegiance |
|---|
Common combinations
- take an oath of allegiance
- She took an oath of allegiance in a crowded hall.
- swear an oath of allegiance
- They swore an oath of allegiance to the crown.
- recite the oath of allegiance
- The children recited the oath of allegiance.
- sign an oath of allegiance
- Staff must sign an oath of allegiance.
- break an oath of allegiance
- He was accused of breaking his oath of allegiance.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pledge
- Pledge is a more general promise and can be about any commitment, while oath of allegiance is specifically about loyalty to a state or ruler.
- vow
- A vow is a solemn promise, often personal or religious, while an oath of allegiance is official and legal.
- loyalty oath
- Loyalty oath is close in meaning but is often used when demanding loyalty from employees or citizens.
Opposites
Word family
- oath noun
- a solemn promise
- allegiance noun
- loyalty to a person, group or country
- swear verb
- to make a solemn promise
- allegiant adjective
- loyal
Commonly confused: oath of allegiance or pledge of allegiance?
oath of allegiance vs pledge of allegiance
A pledge of allegiance is a daily or ceremonial recital, such as in US schools, while an oath of allegiance is a formal, legally binding promise.
Practice
At the ceremony, the new citizens stood and took an ___ to their new country.
Choose one answer.
An oath of allegiance is a promise of loyalty to a country. Oath of office is taken when starting a public job, so it is the tempting but wrong choice.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “oath of allegiance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.