commitment
noun
Simple meaning
A promise or strong decision to stick with something.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kuhmitmuhntSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
kəˈmɪtmənt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action
“His long commitment to public service.”
Being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons.
Promise or agreement to do something in the future, especially
The act or an instance of committing, putting in charge, keeping, or trust, especially
The trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose
The act of sending a legislative bill to committee for review.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action
Used this way, commitment is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“His long commitment to public service.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “commitment to …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: commitment to …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use commitment
- “His business commitments took him to London.”noun
- “His long commitment to public service.”noun
- “A man of energy and commitment.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.