What's the difference between oath and vow?

Oath


Definition:

  • (n.) A solemn affirmation or declaration, made with a reverent appeal to God for the truth of what is affirmed.
  • (n.) A solemn affirmation, connected with a sacred object, or one regarded as sacred, as the temple, the altar, the blood of Abel, the Bible, the Koran, etc.
  • (n.) An appeal (in verification of a statement made) to a superior sanction, in such a form as exposes the party making the appeal to an indictment for perjury if the statement be false.
  • (n.) A careless and blasphemous use of the name of the divine Being, or anything divine or sacred, by way of appeal or as a profane exclamation or ejaculation; an expression of profane swearing.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Justice Hiley later suggested the conduct required by a doctor outside of his profession, as Chapman was describing it, was perhaps a “broad generality” and not specific enough “to create an ethical obligation.” “It’s no broader than the Hippocratic oath,” Chapman said in her reply.
  • (2) The media mogul said he had spoken "very carefully under oath" at the Leveson inquiry on Wednesday, when he had said that Brown had pledged to "declare war" on his company in a phone call made at around the time the Sun came out in support of the Conservative party, on 30 September of that year.
  • (3) Ultimately, the new contract undermines our oath to do no harm and risks the future of the NHS and the safety of the public.
  • (4) The privy council’s antiquated oath, which is supposed to remain secret, also requires members to promise “not (to) know or understand of any manner of thing to be attempted, done, or spoken against Her Majesty’s person, honour, crown, or dignity royal”.
  • (5) This oath and a doctors’ ability to act in their patient’s best interests, must be respected in all circumstances, including in Australia’s immigration detention facilities,” Talley added.
  • (6) However, as Captain Black articulated frankly in Catch-22’s Glorious Loyalty Oath Crusade : “The important thing is to keep them pledging … It doesn’t matter whether they mean it or not.
  • (7) The trial of the singer and TV entertainer Tulisa Contostavlos over drugs allegations has dramatically collapsed after the judge ruled that the Sun investigative reporter whose evidence was central to the case had seemingly lied on oath.
  • (8) Only the disloyal take offence, thereby proving how much we need the oath.
  • (9) De Blasio took the oath of office moments after midnight in front of his modest Brooklyn home.
  • (10) A Hong Kong court has disqualified four pro-democracy lawmakers for failing to sincerely take the oath of office, a huge blow to the city’s opposition.
  • (11) Scott Morrison has said he was “offended” and “disappointed” that his friend the broadcaster Ray Hadley pressed him to swear an oath on the Bible to prove he was telling the truth about his actions in the Liberal leadership upheaval.
  • (12) Francis has for a long time favoured an independent public inquiry where he could testify on oath.
  • (13) As many as 7% of psychiatrists admit to having sexual intercourse with patients, despite ethical prohibitions going back to the Hippocratic Oath.
  • (14) Abbott has claimed repeatedly that “green tape” and “lawfare” are holding up a potential 10,000 jobs at his favourite coal mine, even though the company’s own economics expert, Dr Jerome Fahrer, admitted under oath that the figure was closer to 1,500 – including indirect jobs.
  • (15) I can already feel it piling into the garbage segment of my political memory, so that one day in the future, Javid’s oaths will have become I, the undersigned, do hereby promise to defend John Major’s cones around Theresa May’s racist vans , protect them from the vandalism of ridicule, because that is the British way; to tolerate views you disagree with, including this stupid oath.
  • (16) This paper surveys selected historical foundations of the present American Physical Therapy Association's CODE OF ETHICS, showing the extent to which the present code draws upon oaths, ideas in ethics textbooks, and other sources.
  • (17) We have people from three different branches of government who take an oath to uphold and defend the constitution.
  • (18) The government will file a lawsuit seeking to unseat Lau Siu-lai, Nathan Law, Edward Yiu and Leung Kwok-hung by declaring their oaths of office invalid, local media reported .
  • (19) Pro-Beijing supporters are pushing for a review of whether he and seven other legislators should also be disqualified from office because of their protests at the oath-taking ceremony.
  • (20) As a physician this is my oath, I’m going to treat everyone regardless.” The organisation’s latest public relations campaign has used the slogan “the doctor of your enemy is not your enemy”.

Vow


Definition:

  • (n.) A solemn promise made to God, or to some deity; an act by which one consecrates or devotes himself, absolutely or conditionally, wholly or in part, for a longer or shorter time, to some act, service, or condition; a devotion of one's possessions; as, a baptismal vow; a vow of poverty.
  • (n.) Specifically, a promise of fidelity; a pledge of love or affection; as, the marriage vow.
  • (n.) To give, consecrate, or dedicate to God, or to some deity, by a solemn promise; to devote; to promise solemnly.
  • (n.) To assert solemnly; to asseverate.
  • (v. i.) To make a vow, or solemn promise.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) The strike, which Central Command said destroyed the Isis fighting position, follows Barack Obama's vow in his televised speech on Wednesday to go on the offensive against Isis more broadly in Iraq and, soon, Syria.
  • (2) But Mr Bolloré, with a 29% stake in Aegis, vowed to keep calling shareholder meetings until he gets his way.
  • (3) But Clegg also says he is not going to be cowed into taking Cameron's vow of silence about Farage's assertion that he finds Britain unrecognisable and is uncomfortable at the lack of English spoken on commuter trains out of Charing Cross.
  • (4) Cameron also believes the planned peace talks can lure Assad's acolytes to break with their leader by vowing that if he goes, the existing military and security services will be preserved, saying the aim was "to learn the lessons of Iraq".
  • (5) "We have vowed to never forget and we never will," he said.
  • (6) The Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu , has vowed the militant Islamist group Hamas, blamed by Israel for the kidnapping, will "pay a heavy price".
  • (7) China to allow pension fund to invest in stock market for first time Read more China’s state-run media has repeatedly vowed that the country’s leaders will not allow such huge losses to continue.
  • (8) The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents postal workers, has vowed to fight the sale, which it says will lead to a "worse deal for customers, staff and thousands of small businesses dependent on the Royal Mail".
  • (9) Von Trier, who took a " vow of silence " after being banned from the Cannes film festival in 2011 after joking about Nazism during a press conference for Melancholia, arrived at Nymphomaniac's photocall wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase "Persona Non Grata"; true to his word, he failed to attend the subsequent press conference where his actors and producer talked about the film.
  • (10) Iran has vowed to retaliate against the ISA extension, passed unanimously on Thursday, saying it violated last year’s agreement with six major powers to curb its nuclear programme in return for lifting of international financial sanctions.
  • (11) Far from being depressed, the audience turned into a heaving mass of furious geeks, who roared their anger and vowed that they would not rest until they had brought down the rotten system The "skeptic movement" (always spelt with "k" by the way, to emphasise their distinctiveness) had come to Singh's aid.
  • (12) Most remarkably: last July, 60 Minutes reported that Al Sharpton "has decided not to criticize the president about anything " – a vow that should be the ultimate disqualifying attribute for working in journalism: how can someone be employed as a political commentator if they vow never to criticize the president under any circumstances?
  • (13) Griffin vowed to lodge a complaint at the "unfair" way the Question Time programme was produced, despite the BNP's claims that his appearance sparked the "biggest single recruitment night in the party's history".
  • (14) More than 120 couples joined the mass on Sunday morning to renew their wedding vows and celebrate more than 1,700 years of marriage between them.
  • (15) Brandis has asked the ACT government not to put the new laws into effect until the court can determine their validity, but the chief minister, Katy Gallagher, has vowed to press ahead.
  • (16) Instead, he vowed: "That means I will be cautious about the promises I make.
  • (17) Before the August rebellion Uganda and Rwanda both had some troops on the eastern Congo border, by agreement with Mr Kabila and theoretically in joint operations with his forces against the tens of thousands of former Rwandan soldiers and interahamwe who have vowed to continue the genocide in Rwanda.
  • (18) Qatar had vowed to reform the industry after the Guardian exposed the desperate plight of many of its migrant workers last year.
  • (19) In his only specific growth measure, he said Britain's planning laws would have to be scrapped so more housing could be built, vowing to scrap "the suffocating bureaucracy" that he said was holding economic growth back.
  • (20) We look forward to many more years of working with Maria.” Sharapova, who has been provisionally banned while the International tennis Federation decides her fate, has thanked her fans for their support and vowed to return to the game.