The act of committing, or putting in charge, keeping, or trust; consignment; esp., the act of committing to prison. [1913 Webster]
"They were glad to compound for his bare commitment to the Tower, whence he was within few days enlarged." [1913 Webster]
A warrant or order for the imprisonment of a person; -- more frequently termed a mittimus. [1913 Webster]
The act of referring or intrusting to a committee for consideration and report; as, the commitment of a petition or a bill. [1913 Webster]
A doing, or perpetration, in a bad sense, as of a crime or blunder; commission. [1913 Webster]
The act of pledging or engaging; the act of exposing, endangering, or compromising; also, the state of being pledged or engaged. Hamilton. [1913 Webster]

top

OXFORD DICTIONARY

commitment, n.
1 an engagement or (esp. financial) obligation that restricts freedom of action.
2 the process or an instance of committing oneself; a pledge or undertaking.

top

THESAURUS

commitment

abandon, activity, affair, agency, agentship, agreement, allegiance, altruism, ardency, ardor, assigned task, assignment, attempt, authority, authorization, bounden duty, brevet, burden, business, call of duty, campaign, care, cause, charge, commendation, commission, commissioning, committal, committedness, consecration, consignment, constancy, contract, crusade, cure, deal, decidedness, decision, decisiveness, dedication, deference, definiteness, delegated authority, delegation, deputation, determinateness, determination, determinedness, devoir, devolution, devolvement, devotedness, devotion, devoutness, disinterest, disinterestedness, drive, duties and responsibilities, duty, earnestness, effort, embassy, empowerment, enfeoffment, engagement, enterprise, entrusting, entrustment, errand, ethics, executorship, exequatur, factorship, faith, faithfulness, fastness, fealty, fervency, fervidness, fervor, fidelity, fire, firmness, full power, great cause, hallowing, heartiness, heat, heatedness, homage, humility, impassionedness, imperative, infeodation, infeudation, intensity, intentness, interest, issue, jurisdiction, legation, license, lieutenancy, lifework, line of duty, loyalty, mandate, mass movement, mission, mittimus, modesty, movement, must, need, obligation, obstinacy, office, onus, operation, ordainment, ordination, ought, passion, passionateness, perseverance, persistence, place, plan, plenipotentiary power, power of attorney, power to act, preengagement, principle, procuration, program, project, proposition, proxy, purpose, purposefulness, purview, reason for being, recognizance, recommitment, regency, regentship, relegation, relentlessness, remand, remanding, resoluteness, resolution, resolve, resolvedness, respect, responsibility, right, sacrifice, self-abasement, self-abnegation, self-denial, self-devotion, self-effacement, self-forgetfulness, self-immolation, self-imposed duty, self-neglect, self-neglectfulness, self-renouncement, self-sacrifice, self-subjection, self-will, selflessness, seriousness, sincerity, single-mindedness, spirit, staunchness, steadfastness, task, tenacity, total commitment, tried-and-trueness, triedness, trueness, trust, trusteeship, unacquisitiveness, understanding, undertaking, unpossessiveness, unselfishness, vehemence, venture, verbal agreement, vicarious authority, warmth, warrant, will, work, zeal

For further exploring for "commitment" in Webster Dictionary Online