tell vs swear

tell and swear both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
tell	No	No	Yes	No
swear	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, swear is a hypernym of tell; that is, swear is a word with a broader meaning than tell:

Other hypernyms of tell include affirm, assert, aver, avow, swan, verify.

tell (verb)	swear (verb)
discern or comprehend	have faith or confidence in
mark as different	make a deposition; declare under oath
let something be known	utter obscenities or profanities
narrate or give a detailed account of	promise solemnly; take an oath
give instructions to or direct somebody to do something with authority	to declare or affirm solemnly and formally as true
give evidence
express in words
inform positively and with certainty and confidence