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
Relevance
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pledging
Defense and national security remain a cornerstone of Germany’s landmark fiscal expansion, with Berlin pledging to ramp up military spending to at least 1% of its total GDP.
—
Hugh Leask, CNBC, 20 May 2026
In Central Asia, Japan has been a forward-leaning partner, pledging over $19 billion to help nations bypass Russian influence through the Middle Corridor.
—Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Awareness of risk from terror plots is high in the city after a 21-year-old Austrian man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024.
—ABC News, 14 May 2026
Kloss, 33, recently followed suit, pledging $1 million to go toward such resources as clothing, healthcare and toys.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 8 May 2026
The McArthur standout was the second Mustang to commit to UM, pledging in March.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 4 May 2026
Hernandez campaigned as a foe of gentrification while pledging to combat homelessness and shift funding from law enforcement to unarmed crisis response teams and other services.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Some Philadelphia leaders are pushing back more forcefully on a controversial school district facilities plan that would close 17 schools, pledging to shut down the vote and even introduce legislation to more closely track the district's finances.
—Brandon Goldner, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Then, in February, Amazon deepened its infrastructure push by pledging up to $50 billion to Anthropic's chief rival OpenAI—conditional on the company using two gigawatts-worth of Trainium infrastructure.
—Time Contributors, Time, 29 Apr. 2026
Hugh Leask, CNBC, 20 May 2026
In Central Asia, Japan has been a forward-leaning partner, pledging over $19 billion to help nations bypass Russian influence through the Middle Corridor.
—Ken Silverstein, Forbes.com, 17 May 2026
Awareness of risk from terror plots is high in the city after a 21-year-old Austrian man accused of pledging allegiance to the Islamic State group pleaded guilty to plotting to attack a Taylor Swift concert in Vienna in 2024.
—ABC News, 14 May 2026
Kloss, 33, recently followed suit, pledging $1 million to go toward such resources as clothing, healthcare and toys.
—Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 8 May 2026
The McArthur standout was the second Mustang to commit to UM, pledging in March.
—Adam Lichtenstein, Sun Sentinel, 4 May 2026
Hernandez campaigned as a foe of gentrification while pledging to combat homelessness and shift funding from law enforcement to unarmed crisis response teams and other services.
—Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Some Philadelphia leaders are pushing back more forcefully on a controversial school district facilities plan that would close 17 schools, pledging to shut down the vote and even introduce legislation to more closely track the district's finances.
—Brandon Goldner, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
Then, in February, Amazon deepened its infrastructure push by pledging up to $50 billion to Anthropic's chief rival OpenAI—conditional on the company using two gigawatts-worth of Trainium infrastructure.
—Time Contributors, Time, 29 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pledging
Verb
-
The Steelers had expected this to be the case perhaps weeks or even months ago, but Rodgers took his methodical, sweet time before committing.—
Armando Salguero OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
17 May 2026
-
Duncan’s daughter attends a private high school that so reliably sends its students to Stanford that even its principal isn’t above committing a bit of fraud to insure her own daughter’s place there.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
17 May 2026
Verb
-
After being blackballed from the finance sector, Coop resorts to burglarizing the homes of those in his social circle and pawning the items to stay afloat.—
Ryan Brennan,
Charlotte Observer,
1 Apr. 2026
-
Burglarizing the homes of those in his social circle and pawning the items just to stay afloat.—
Ryan Brennan
April 1,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Democrats in both chambers are vowing to press on and Republican defections are gradually growing in each chamber.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
18 May 2026
-
The night also featured Randy Savage and Mike Bell being inducted into the MJN Center Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame and Killer Kross and Shotzi vowing to make appearances at ACW’s next event, Indypendence Day on July 18.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
The bridge demonstrates a new, lighter approach to low-carbon infrastructure, cutting waste and CO₂ by depositing concrete only where needed.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
-
The Human Genome Project, guided by the 1997 Bermuda Principles, had committed to depositing all of its genomic data into a free, publicly accessible database within 24 hours of generation.—
Zachary Utz,
STAT,
15 May 2026
Verb
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But Netanyahu’s coalition, supported by ultra-Orthodox parties, has tapped only small numbers of willing men, and has been promising to advance a bill—one opposed by more than four-fifths of Israelis—that would supersede the court’s ruling.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
-
By Carmen Arroyo, Bloomberg Elon Musk’s xAI asked employees earlier this year to offer up their own tax returns as training data for the company’s Grok chatbot, promising a $420 payment as incentive for doing so.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
18 May 2026
Verb
-
Davidson, 54, became the subject of numerous documentaries, and in 2019, made headlines for unintentionally swearing at Queen Elizabeth II while receiving an award for his advocacy work.—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Some incidents included use-of-force and other behavioral concerns, including discussions over whether to provide bodycam where deputies were swearing to the show.—
Michael Ruiz,
FOXNews.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pledging.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pledging. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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