What's the difference between pledge and undertake?

Pledge


Definition:

  • (n.) The transfer of possession of personal property from a debtor to a creditor as security for a debt or engagement; also, the contract created between the debtor and creditor by a thing being so delivered or deposited, forming a species of bailment; also, that which is so delivered or deposited; something put in pawn.
  • (n.) A person who undertook, or became responsible, for another; a bail; a surety; a hostage.
  • (n.) A hypothecation without transfer of possession.
  • (n.) Anything given or considered as a security for the performance of an act; a guarantee; as, mutual interest is the best pledge for the performance of treaties.
  • (n.) A promise or agreement by which one binds one's self to do, or to refrain from doing, something; especially, a solemn promise in writing to refrain from using intoxicating liquors or the like; as, to sign the pledge; the mayor had made no pledges.
  • (n.) A sentiment to which assent is given by drinking one's health; a toast; a health.
  • (n.) To deposit, as a chattel, in pledge or pawn; to leave in possession of another as security; as, to pledge one's watch.
  • (n.) To give or pass as a security; to guarantee; to engage; to plight; as, to pledge one's word and honor.
  • (n.) To secure performance of, as by a pledge.
  • (n.) To bind or engage by promise or declaration; to engage solemnly; as, to pledge one's self.
  • (n.) To invite another to drink, by drinking of the cup first, and then handing it to him, as a pledge of good will; hence, to drink the health of; to toast.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) She was clearly elected on a pledge not to cut school funding and that’s exactly what is happening,” Corbyn said.
  • (2) The green fund contributions already announced (which include a $3bn pledge by the US and a $1.5bn pledge by Japan revealed during the G20 summit) “show very clearly that if we want the emerging countries and the more fragile countries to participate in this global growth, we have to ... support them,” Hollande said.
  • (3) Federal judges who blocked the bans cited harsh rhetoric employed by Trump on the campaign trail , specifically a pledge to ban all Muslims from entering the US and support for giving priority to Christian refugees, as being reflective of the intent behind his travel ban.
  • (4) Under pressure from many backbenchers, he has tightened planning controls on windfarms and pledged to "roll back" green subsidies on bills, leading to fears of dwindling support for the renewables industry.
  • (5) It also pledged support to a veterans’ group that rejected a request by a gay, lesbian and bisexual group to march in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Boston.
  • (6) We simply do whatever nature needs and will work with anyone that wants to help wildlife.” His views might come as a surprise to some of the RSPB’s 1.1 million members, who would have been persuaded by its original pledge “to discourage the wanton destruction of birds”; they would equally have been a surprise to the RSPB’s detractors in the shooting world.
  • (7) We are prepared to be honest with people and say that we will all need to chip in a little more.” The party’s health spokesman, Norman Lamb, said: “The NHS was once the envy of the world and this pledge is the first step in restoring it to where it should be.
  • (8) Royal Mail has pledged not to give Greene a large pay rise until after the current financial year, but the government's move follows Royal Mail chairman Donald Brydon telling the Daily Telegraph this week that Greene was the "lowest-paid chief executive in the FTSE 100" and that a rise in her pay was necessary to keep her.
  • (9) Well one of the things we have in common is we produce a lot of carbon … which means we’ve got to step up.” In the backrooms of the G20 meeting, Australia was continuing to resist language in the official communique encouraging countries to make pledges to the Green Climate Fund , but to a rousing reception at a local university, Obama announced the $3bn US commitment.
  • (10) Tim Farron has pledged to fight the next general election on a platform of taking the UK back into Europe .
  • (11) And when you said the pledge of allegiance in the morning, you had to look at those flags.
  • (12) But Sainsbury attacked government attempts to secure further pledges as a "total waste of time" given Pfizer's record of breaking promises in past takeovers.
  • (13) In a telling moment, 17 editors of both state and private newspapers collectively pledged in November to avoid criticising the state.
  • (14) Fenway, which also owns the Boston Red Sox baseball team, bought Liverpool for £300m in 2010 and pledged to return the club to the top of English football, following what was then a 20-year gap since the club last won the top flight.
  • (15) China INDC This would be “a key” to success of the UN climate talks, a French diplomatic official said, because the current national pledges won’t be enough to achieve the goal of keeping the rise in global temperatures below 2C between pre-industrial times and the end of the century.
  • (16) Climate change is also high on protesters’ and politicians’ agendas, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, called for the industrial powers to throw their weight behind a longstanding pledge to seek $100bn (£65bn) to help poor countries tackle climate change, agreed in Copenhagen in 2009.
  • (17) The party has also pledged to ensure that the wealthy make a greater contribution by restoring the 50p higher rate of income tax.
  • (18) Abbott's comments on Wednesday morning followed a pledge from Yudhoyono on Tuesday night to restore normal bilateral relations if Australia signed up to a new code of ethics on intelligence sharing.
  • (19) The media mogul said he had spoken "very carefully under oath" at the Leveson inquiry on Wednesday, when he had said that Brown had pledged to "declare war" on his company in a phone call made at around the time the Sun came out in support of the Conservative party, on 30 September of that year.
  • (20) "He has pledged to push for devolution of power to the north and east, and has said that the solution to the national question must have the agreement of all parties."

Undertake


Definition:

  • (v. t.) To take upon one's self; to engage in; to enter upon; to take in hand; to begin to perform; to set about; to attempt.
  • (v. t.) Specifically, to take upon one's self solemnly or expressly; to lay one's self under obligation, or to enter into stipulations, to perform or to execute; to covenant; to contract.
  • (v. t.) Hence, to guarantee; to promise; to affirm.
  • (v. t.) To assume, as a character.
  • (v. t.) To engage with; to attack.
  • (v. t.) To have knowledge of; to hear.
  • (v. t.) To take or have the charge of.
  • (v. i.) To take upon one's self, or assume, any business, duty, or province.
  • (v. i.) To venture; to hazard.
  • (v. i.) To give a promise or guarantee; to be surety.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) However, as the same task confronts the Lib Dems, do we not now have a priceless opportunity to bring the two parties together to undertake a fundamental rethink of the way social democratic principles and policies can be made relevant to modern society.
  • (2) But earlier this year the Unesco world heritage committee called for the cancellation of all such Virunga oil permits and appealed to two concession holders, Total and Soco International, not to undertake exploration in world heritage sites.
  • (3) Without that, and without undertaking big changes, the service's future may fall into doubt, he says.
  • (4) The performance of the instrument was evaluated by undertaking in vitro measurements of the reflectance spectra of blood.
  • (5) This work undertakes the study of changes in urinary, plasmatic and tissue levels of Thromboxane B2 (TXB2) as well as in tissue Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) after pancreas transplantation and the effect of superoxide dismutase (SOD) on these changes.
  • (6) The surgeon must have an exact idea of this canal before undertaking operation for plastics of the hernial defect.
  • (7) So far, there is little sign of similar hubris at the Human Brain Project, a far more complex undertaking, but perhaps for the moment Markram's ambition is precisely what is needed.
  • (8) This report describes how the difficulties were surmounted, and how the National Technical Centre then proceeded to undertake activities to extend awareness of the ICIDH.
  • (9) Since the regime was introduced, we have been undertaking work to ensure that senior manager responsibilities are properly allocated and understood in firms.
  • (10) The questions facing nursing now are not whether nurses should undertake this role, but how well do they provide information?
  • (11) The prison suicide rate, at 120 deaths per 100,000 people, is about 10 times higher than the rate in the general population.” The report calls for a recently revised incentives and earned privileges regime to be scrapped and for an undertaking that prisoners with mental health problems or at known risk of suicide should never be placed in solitary.
  • (12) Additional reconstruction of the "donor" limb arteries and dilatation of the iliac artery improve circulation in the "donor limb", which makes it possible to undertake cross femoral-femoral shunting in patients with a high risk of aorto-femoral reconstruction in atherosclerotic affection of the "donor" limb.
  • (13) They were charged with undertaking acts in preparation or planning for a terrorist act.
  • (14) Despite the fact that this approach has several caveats, consistent results obtained in short-term studies would more readily justify the undertaking of a large-scale, long-term controlled study using colon cancer or adenomatous polyp recurrence as an endpoint.
  • (15) The chance discovery of an oesophageal localisation of Crohn's disease led the authors to undertake routine study of the oesophagus in their last 18 patients suffering from the disorder.
  • (16) Pedro is due in London on Wednesday to undertake a medical and discuss personal terms, with United having withdrawn their interest.
  • (17) Maybe this will be increasing the frequency of patrols, or going to places that the Obama administration has been hesitant to go – such as actually undertaking a non-innocent passage military patrols within 12 miles of an artificial island.
  • (18) He held out a hand to North Korea again, calling for it to denuclearise; and to Burma, if it undertakes democratic reform and frees political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
  • (19) The judge noted the “seriousness of these offences and impact on road traffic, particularly given the number of fines previously issued against BT by TfL for similar offences.” Firms undertaking work anywhere in London need a permit before digging up the roads, allowing highway authorities to coordinate work to minimise disruption.
  • (20) Prior to undertaking the exploration of phenomena in a research study with people from different cultures, certain elements must be addressed in order to bridge cultural and linguistic differences.