Commissive Speech Act

A Commissive Speech Act is a speech act whose point is to commit its speaker to a future course of action.

AKA: Commissive Illocutionary Act, Commissive Act.
Context:
- It is one of the five basic kinds of illocutionary act in Searle's classification, alongside assertives, directives, expressives and declarations.
- It can bind the speaker rather than the addressee, which is what separates it from a directive speech act.
- It can share an utterance with a directive: "I bet you five pounds it will rain" both commits the speaker and directs the hearer.
- ...
Example(s):
- Promises, such as a promise to repay a loan.
- Oaths, such as an oath of office.
- Bets, which commit the speaker to pay if an event turns out a certain way.
- ...
Counter-Example(s):
- A Directive Speech Act, a sibling speech act, which aims to get the addressee, not the speaker, to act.
- A Request, which asks something of the addressee and commits the speaker to no future action.
- An Assertive Speech Act, a sibling speech act, which represents how things are rather than committing anyone to act.
- ...
See: Speech Act, Directive Speech Act.

References

John R. Searle. (1976). A classification of illocutionary acts. Language in Society, 5(1), 1–23. Retrieved 2026-10-15 (abstract); archived snapshot of 2026-10-05. Supports the five-way classification: "The five basic kinds of illocutionary acts are: representatives (or assertives), directives, commissives, expressives, and declarations".

Wikipedia. Illocutionary act. Retrieved 2026-10-15; archived snapshot of 2026-10-11. Supports the definition and examples: "commissives = speech acts that commit a speaker to some future action, e.g. promises and oaths"; and the bet example, which is "both directive and commissive".