1
as in committing
to obligate by prior agreement
I would love to go to dinner with you, but I've pledged myself to a play with my parents that night
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in pawning
to leave as a guarantee of repayment of a loan
pledged their house against the loan
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in vowing
to make a solemn declaration of intent
I pledge that I will abide by all of the rules of this organization
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Recent Examples of pledging
Wealthy donors are pledging to contribute to these accounts.
—
Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026
In 1986, during a summit meeting in Iceland, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan surprised their staffs as well as the world by pledging the abolition of all nuclear weapons.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
In four of the communities, officials signed confidential nondisclosure agreements, pledging to keep details of the plans private.
—Tom Kertscher, jsonline.com, 10 Feb. 2026
The White House’s new TrumpRx platform launched Thursday, pledging dramatic prescription label price cuts for uninsured Americans.
—Gavin J. Quinton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
The Conservatives, staring at electoral oblivion, hastily followed suit, pledging to repeal the Climate Change Act.
—Bjorn Lomborg, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
He had been committed for eight months, pledging to the Orange on March 21.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
But in the wake of the fatal shootings in Minnesota, candidates the group supports are also drawing a line in the sand on immigration — pledging to abolish ICE.
—Elena Moore, NPR, 4 Feb. 2026
Last fall, Crystal International joined environmental nonprofit Textile Exchange, pledging to expand the adoption of preferred sustainable alternatives in materials and manufacturing processes that will allow the company to minimize its environmental impact.
—Jennifer Bringle, Sourcing Journal, 30 Jan. 2026
Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 11 Feb. 2026
In 1986, during a summit meeting in Iceland, Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan surprised their staffs as well as the world by pledging the abolition of all nuclear weapons.
—Arthur I. Cyr, Chicago Tribune, 10 Feb. 2026
In four of the communities, officials signed confidential nondisclosure agreements, pledging to keep details of the plans private.
—Tom Kertscher, jsonline.com, 10 Feb. 2026
The White House’s new TrumpRx platform launched Thursday, pledging dramatic prescription label price cuts for uninsured Americans.
—Gavin J. Quinton, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2026
The Conservatives, staring at electoral oblivion, hastily followed suit, pledging to repeal the Climate Change Act.
—Bjorn Lomborg, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
He had been committed for eight months, pledging to the Orange on March 21.
—Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Feb. 2026
But in the wake of the fatal shootings in Minnesota, candidates the group supports are also drawing a line in the sand on immigration — pledging to abolish ICE.
—Elena Moore, NPR, 4 Feb. 2026
Last fall, Crystal International joined environmental nonprofit Textile Exchange, pledging to expand the adoption of preferred sustainable alternatives in materials and manufacturing processes that will allow the company to minimize its environmental impact.
—Jennifer Bringle, Sourcing Journal, 30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pledging
Verb
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If you are detained, ask the officer what crime you are suspected of committing, and remind the officer that taking photographs is your right under the First Amendment and does not constitute reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.—
John Tufts,
IndyStar,
14 Feb. 2026
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As of early February, the probability of the pair committing to wed by then was 27%.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Iran’s foreign minister struck a hard-line tone Sunday, vowing Tehran will maintain its uranium enrichment program despite Western pressure.—
Jon Gambrell,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
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There’s been a surge of TikTok videos of people vowing to delete social media apps in 2026 and engage more with in-person and analog hobbies.—
Sawdah Bhaimiya,
CNBC,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Billions of years of pressure, folding, and depositing created a region rich with minerals just close enough to the surface to mine.—
Lauren Steele,
The Atlantic,
7 Feb. 2026
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An affidavit says a former employee accused her of depositing the same paychecks multiple times.—
Karen Morfitt,
CBS News,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Council of Fashion Designers and OpenAI are launching an Innovation Hub, a two-year initiative designed to bring together promising CFDA members and cutting-edge AI builders to drive innovation, creativity and growth across the fashion industry.—
Lisa Lockwood,
Footwear News,
9 Feb. 2026
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Echoes of Apple’s legendary ‘1984’ Super Bowl ad By drawing a hard line in the sand—promising no ads—Anthropic has executed a classic brand strategy, Galloway said.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Still, in general, experts agree that many people find swearing rude and disrespectful, so with kids of any age, parents should do their best to model socially-acceptable language and discuss the potential present and future impact of using dicey words.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
26 Jan. 2026
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The Milwaukee-area refugees passed their naturalization exams and were days away from swearing allegiance to the United States at an oath ceremony.—
Sophie Carson,
jsonline.com,
14 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pledging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pledging. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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