COMMITMENT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does commitment mean? 

• COMMITMENT (noun)
  The noun COMMITMENT has 5 senses:

1. the trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose

2. the act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action

3. an engagement by contract involving financial obligation

4. a message that makes a pledge

5. the official act of consigning a person to confinement (as in a prison or mental hospital)

  Familiarity information: COMMITMENT used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COMMITMENT (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

commitment; committedness

Context example:

a man of energy and commitment

Hypernyms ("commitment" is a kind of...):

earnestness; serious-mindedness; seriousness; sincerity (the trait of being serious)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "commitment"):

investment (the commitment of something other than money (time, energy, or effort) to a project with the expectation of some worthwhile result)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

allegiance; commitment; dedication; loyalty

Context example:

they felt no loyalty to a losing team

Hypernyms ("commitment" is a kind of...):

cooperation (joint operation or action)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "commitment"):

communalism (loyalty and commitment to the interests of your own minority or ethnic group rather than to society as a whole)

consecration (a solemn commitment of your life or your time to some cherished purpose (to a service or a goal))

devotion (commitment to some purpose)

enlistment (the act of enlisting (as in a military service))

faith (loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person)

Derivation:

commit (give entirely to a specific person, activity, or cause)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An engagement by contract involving financial obligation

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Context example:

his business commitments took him to London

Hypernyms ("commitment" is a kind of...):

engagement; involution; involvement; participation (the act of sharing in the activities of a group)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "commitment"):

incurrence (the act of incurring (making yourself subject to something undesirable))

Derivation:

commit (make an investment)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A message that makes a pledge

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

commitment; dedication

Hypernyms ("commitment" is a kind of...):

content; message; subject matter; substance (what a communication that is about something is about)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "commitment"):

oath; swearing (a commitment to tell the truth (especially in a court of law); to lie under oath is to become subject to prosecution for perjury)

affirmation ((religion) a solemn declaration that serves the same purpose as an oath (if an oath is objectionable to the person on religious or ethical grounds))

promise (a verbal commitment by one person to another agreeing to do (or not to do) something in the future)

assurance; pledge (a binding commitment to do or give or refrain from something)

Sense 5

Meaning:

The official act of consigning a person to confinement (as in a prison or mental hospital)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

commitment; committal; consignment

Hypernyms ("commitment" is a kind of...):

confinement (the act of restraining of a person's liberty by confining them)

Derivation:

commit (cause to be admitted; of persons to an institution)

 Context examples 

You may use this full moon to get ready for a commitment in love by getting engaged or married, or you may be working toward making a collaboration with an expert in business.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

This protein plays a role in both cell fate commitment and cell-cell signaling.

(Neurogenic Locus Notch Homolog Protein 3, NCI Thesaurus)

To support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on patient-oriented research.

(Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award, NCI Thesaurus)

These exciting outcomes show that long-term commitment to basic research has incredible potential for real-world impact, says Anne Sylvester, a program officer in NSF's Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.

(Grains in the rain, National Science Foundation)

Cell Fate Control involves intercellular, cellular, and intracellular processes that regulate the generally irreversible commitment of a multipotent cell(s) to a specific ensuing cell development lineage among alternate potential lineage options.

(Cell Fate Control, NCI Thesaurus)

The letter often lists minor deficiencies in the product documentation that have to be corrected, often involves labeling changes, and possibly requests sponsor commitment to do post-approval studies.

(FDA Approval, NCI Thesaurus)

Processes that mark, promote, and sustain the commencement of, and commitment to continue, cellular processes involved in the S phase of the cell cycle, such as replication.

(G1 to S Transition Process, NCI Thesaurus)

G1-S Arrest consists of cellular biochemical mechanisms, responsive to diverse governing conditions (DNA damage, contact inhibition, growth factors, etc.), that control cellular commitment at the G1 restriction point to DNA replication and the proliferative cycle.

(Negative Regulation of G1 to S Transition, NCI Thesaurus)

(1) Plans and coordinates the development; (2) coordinates the clinical testing of new approaches in academia, industry, or in other parts of the federal government; (3) coordinates the development targeted to specific biochemical or physiological processes in cancer cells for better biologic insight into the physiology of human tumors; (4) encourages industrial commitment to the development and ultimate clinical testing relevant to cancer; (5) coordinates activities with other programs of the Institute, other federal agencies, and outside organizations; (6) coordinates the activities of the branches within the Program for productive interactions and effective technology transfer; and (7) assesses the activities of the Program and advises the Division Director regarding scientific opportunities for the development of new approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer.

(Diagnostic Imaging Program, NCI Thesaurus)

You now have the transiting Sun in Capricorn (six months away from your birthday Sun), your seventh house of commitment and marriage.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)