Committed Vs Commited: What’s The Correct Word To Use?

Committed vs commited: which is the correct simple past tense of commit? This seems like a simple question, right? However, it is not as simple for some people, hence this article.

Committed is the past tense and past participle of the verb commit, meaning “bound under a pledge to something, attitude, or action.” As an adjective, it means “obligated by a pledge to some progression of action” or “showing commitment.” On the other hand, commited is a misspelling of committed.

In English, adding, changing, or omitting one letter in a word makes a significant difference. For instance, the extra letter “t” in committed is an important differentiating factor for the words committed and commited. Read on to discover more about these words and which is the correct spelling.

Definitions Of Committed And Commited

The best way to differentiate words is through their definitions. Traditionally, the only way to find a word’s definition was through a physical dictionary. However, thanks to the internet, you can now find definitions with a few clicks. Also, it is worth mentioning that the English language keeps changing and getting updated regularly. So, the internet provides updated definitions for words, compared to physical dictionaries. Regardless, it would help if you still were keen to use reliable sources for definitions. 

When looking at the definitions of committed and commited, we discovered that the word commit appears severally. Therefore, we think it wise to begin this section by defining the word commit.

• Commit is a verb that means “to do, perform, or perpetrate.” For example, “It is not easy to commit a crime.”
• Commit also means “to pledge yourself or something to a position on a question or an issue.” For example, “The president refused to commit himself to the new regulations.”
• Commit also means “to express your intention or feelings to a position on an issue.” An example sentence is, “The student will commit himself to the project until its completion.”
• Another definition is “to consign for preservation, give in trust for safekeeping, or commend.” For example, “My father decided to commit his soul to God after his stage four cancer diagnosis.”
• Our last commit meaning is “to place in a medical facility, like a hospital or mental institution, as per legal authority.” For example, “The family will commit John to the mental institution on the court’s order.”

Now that you know what to commit means, we can confidently return to our article’s subjects. Here are the comprehensive definitions of committed and commited:

Definitions Of Committed

Committed is the simple past tense or past participle of the verb commit. For example, “The husband committed his loyalty to his wife.”

Committed means “associated in an exclusive, but not necessarily a permanent romantic or sexual relationship.” For example, “Dave and Danny are in a committed relationship.”

Another source defines committed as “obligated under a pledge to a specific cause, attitude, project or action.” For example, “The students are committed to the class project.”

Another meaning is “involuntarily consigned to custody in a hospital, mental institution, or prison.” An example sentence is, “The family committed their son to a mental institution after his breakdown at the thanksgiving dinner.”

Finally, committed means “required by logic to endorse the end of a debate or an argument.” (This is more of a rhetoric.)

Definitions Of Commited

Commited is a misspelling of committed. The misspelling arises from deducting the second letter “t” from the spelling. Therefore, since it is an incorrect word, it does not have a definition or appear in any online or offline dictionary.

How To Properly Use The Words Committed And Commited In A Sentence

The definitions section above explains that committed is the correct spelling while commited is an incorrect word. This information answers the question at the start of this article; “which of these spellings is correct?” However, this article intends to do more than answer this question. For this reason, we prepared some tips for using these words in sentences.

How To Use The Word Committed

Use this word as a verb as the simple past tense or past participle of commit. A simple past tense indicates that something occurred in the past. For example, “The teacher committed the article for publishing.”

On the other hand, a past participle indicates the completion of an event before some other event. A sentence with a past participle usually features the word “have” or “be.” For example, “The students have committed their time to the project.”

You can also use this word as an adjective when referring to:

• An obligation to a course of action 
• Associated in an exclusive and long-term romantic or sexual relationship
• Involuntarily consigned to the custody of a mental institution, hospital, or prison

Note: an adjective is a noun modifier. That means it explains more about a noun. For example, “The couple is in a committed union.” This statement explains the nature of the couple’s relationship. So, the noun in this sentence is “relationship.”

How To Use The Word Commited

Since this is an incorrect word, you should not use it in sentences. So, there are no tips for using this word. Any sentence featuring this word automatically becomes incorrect.

Committed Vs Commited: Some Connections And Differences

The most evident link between these words is their spelling. You may not notice their spelling differences if you do not look at them keenly. This is because the only thing that differentiates their spelling is one letter. The correct spelling features two letter “t”s while the incorrect one features one.

Something else that connects these words is their pronunciation. Despite their spelling differences, both words have three syllables and are pronounced as “/kuh-mit-id/.” Therefore, you may not notice their difference in verbal communication.

The confusion between these spellings comes from the fact that you usually form past tenses by adding “-ed” at the end of a word. For instance, the past tense for play is played. Therefore, if the root verb of committed is commit, shouldn’t its past tense be “commit + ed,” which is commited? This would make sense if the spelling rules in English were standard for all words. However, this is not the case. Not all rules in English apply to all words. Also, the rules keep changing as English is a constantly evolving language.

List Of Examples Of Committed And Commited Use In Sentences

The primary goal for learning new words is to use them in sentences. So, when most people look for information on new words, they also search for examples of sentences with the words. For this reason, we also constructed some simple sentences to show you how to use these words in sentences. Here are some short sentence examples:

Example sentences of the word committed

• The church is in a long-term committed engagement with the youths.
• You should not take this job if you are not committed to it until its completion.
• The students were committed to the project for the entire academic year.
• June committed his young brother to a mental institution after breaking down yesterday.
• The president is committed to changing the country’s legal system.

Example sentences of the word commited

1. Dave and Jacky ended their commited relationship after six years. (INCORRECT)
2. I was commited to my role until the end. (INCORRECT)
3. The actor commited his time to the charity project. (INCORRECT)
4. Getting into a commited union requires hard work. (INCORRECT)
5. Jimmy was not as commited to his family as to his career. (INCORRECT)

Conclusion

Committed is the past participle and simple past tense of commit, while commited is a misspelling of committed. Therefore, you should not use commited it in sentences.