Commissive

Commissive is a term in speech act theory describing a type of illocutionary act in which the speaker commits to a future action or course of action. The defining feature is commitment: the speaker undertakes to bring about a future state and the hearer recognizes that commitment.

Common examples of commissives include promises, vows, pledges, and guarantees. Threats are often discussed as related commissives because the speaker commits to a future action contingent on a condition; some analyses treat threats as a subtype of commissives, while others position them with directives. Commissives can be direct or indirect and may be conditional, as in “If you return the book, I will lend you mine.”

Felicity conditions for commissives require that the speaker intends to perform the promised action, that the hearer believes the intention, and that the action is feasible. The form of realization is usually through first-person verb forms such as “I will,” “I shall,” or their equivalents, though indirect language can also express commitment. Commisives can be positive (commitment to do something) or negative (commitment not to do something).

In discourse, commissives establish obligations and shape expectations, contributing to credibility and social relations. They are distinguished from other illocutionary acts such as directives (attempts to cause action by others), expressives (expressions of attitude), and assertives (claims about the world). The concept originates with J. L. Austin’s speech act theory and was developed by John Searle, who placed commissives within a broader typology of illocutionary acts. In legal and contractual contexts, commissive statements can bear practical weight, giving rise to enforceable obligations when formalized as contracts or promissory commitments.