What's the difference between pledge and wager?

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."

Wager


Definition:

  • (v. t.) Something deposited, laid, or hazarded on the event of a contest or an unsettled question; a bet; a stake; a pledge.
  • (v. t.) A contract by which two parties or more agree that a certain sum of money, or other thing, shall be paid or delivered to one of them, on the happening or not happening of an uncertain event.
  • (v. t.) That on which bets are laid; the subject of a bet.
  • (v. t.) To hazard on the issue of a contest, or on some question that is to be decided, or on some casualty; to lay; to stake; to bet.
  • (v. i.) To make a bet; to lay a wager.

Example Sentences:

  • (1) Not everybody has the luxury of being able to earn 20% less, but I wager more people could than do now.
  • (2) After the first-leg games, an unnamed punter wagered £5 on a four-fold bet, predicting the scores of four of the second legs .
  • (3) Not that, I'll wager: he's jsut shanked it way over.
  • (4) "Come on, Dorothy," murmured a man who one wagered had never spoken with the lady, "now's your chance!"
  • (5) And jolly stylish they are too, I'd wager my Guardian store-bought hat on it.)
  • (6) However, as traders and city economists wagered that the London mayor’s intervention had raised the probability of a leave vote in June’s EU referendum, high-profile business figures threw their support behind prime minister David Cameron’s push to stay in the EU .
  • (7) The first bet is economic, wagering that confidence and demand in the economy are high enough to withstand an abrupt withdrawal of public money.
  • (8) Ministers are considering a limit between £50 and £100 – although Lib Dems remain unhappy that this would still be much higher than the £16 every 20 seconds punters can wager in arcades, and £5 limit in casinos.
  • (9) In fact, I’d wager most voters could tell you immediately whether or not Cooper and Kendall are parents, with all the attendant stereotypes on both sides, but probably wouldn’t be able to answer the same question for Burnham and Corbyn.
  • (10) "Money wagered by sumo wrestlers must not be allowed to end up being used to fund gang activities," it said in an editorial.
  • (11) Sure, this particular situation in Malawi looks to be a mess, but I'd wager it has far more complexities than mere celebrity presence, even one as powerful as Madonna's.
  • (12) Presenting his emergency budget yesterday, George Osborne made two enormous wagers, while pulling off two important tactical victories.
  • (13) Agency: Grey London Director: Marcus Söderlund Crabbie's Grand National: "O'Callaghan and Blake" (Starts at 02:59) – UK This big, loud, adrenaline-fuelled trail (appropriately soundtracked by speedpunk band Cerebral Ballzy) offers a representation of the first steeplechase event ever recorded, which apparently came about as a result of a wager in 1752 between two fiery chaps named Cornelius O'Callaghan and Edmund Blake.
  • (14) The single season in Cologne added 21 goals to that tally, 14 by Klaus and seven by Thomas, so I'd wager that with 91 goals between them they're one of the most successful brotherly strikeforces."
  • (15) I’d wager that a millionaire in Cairo, living in a plush, spacious home, travelling in air-conditioned luxury, would be less stressed out by their environment than a taxi driver or a beggar struggling to feed their family.
  • (16) A woman who was temporarily spared death by firing squad last year remains on death row in Indonesia with her life precariously wagered on an slow-moving court case.
  • (17) Chris Evans (@achrisevans) To save you spending your hard earned cash on speculative wagers.
  • (18) On Tuesday, New York governor Andrew Cuomo and California governor Jerry Brown placed what the former called a “friendly wager” on the outcome.
  • (19) Tomislav Ivkovic - who saved notorious Maradona's penalty that included a pre-match wager between two of them - wasn't playing in Yugoslavian league either (Sporting Lisbon) and there were suggestions that Ivica Osim should have put someone from Yugoslav league between the sticks.
  • (20) And the liberal wager is that Orthodox, Islamic and Asian societies can transform themselves too.