commissive

adjective

com·​mis·​sive kə-ˈmi-siv How to pronounce commissive (audio)
: constituting a statement that commits the speaker to some future action : expressive of commitment
Among the various commissive illocutions, a promise is the strongest mode of commitment that one can make. Here, too, it would be more usual for a commissive utterance to be expressed implicitly: "I will sell you my car for $2500," "I will not drink when driving."Sanford Schane, in The Oxford Handbook of Language and Law, 2012
commissive noun
plural commissives
Commissives are basically promises to do something or commitments of some sort: for example, "I'll bring the beer." Roy D'Andrade, American Anthropologist, March 2002

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of commissive was in 1963

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Dictionary Entries Near commissive

Cite this Entry

“Commissive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commissive. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

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