Skip to main content

Commit vs Entrust vs Confide vs Consign vs Relegate

Commit, entrust, confide, consign, relegate are comparable when they mean to assign to a person or place for some definite end or purpose (as custody or safekeeping).

Commit is the widest term; it may express merely the general idea of delivering into another’s charge or it may have the special sense of a transfer to a superior power or to a place of custody.

To entrust is to commit with trust and confidence; to confide is to entrust with entire reliance and assurance.

Consign implies a more formal act and frequently suggests such transfer or delivery as removes its object from one’s immediate control.

To relegate is to consign to some particular class, position, or sphere usually with the implication of setting aside or getting rid of.