Commitment vs. Duty — What's the Difference?

The state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.

A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; Old French: deu, did, past participle of devoir; Latin: debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may arise from a system of ethics or morality, especially in an honor culture.

An engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action

An act or a course of action that is required of one by position, social custom, law, or religion

The act of referring a legislative bill to committee.

Required action or service

Official consignment, as to a prison or mental health facility.

Active military service

A court order authorizing consignment to a prison.

Moral or legal obligation

A pledge or obligation, as to follow a certain course of action

The compulsion felt to meet such obligation

Something pledged, especially an engagement by contract involving financial obligation.

A tax charged by a government, especially on imports.

The state of being emotionally or intellectually devoted, as to a belief, a course of action, or another person

The application of something for a purpose; use

The act or an instance of committing, putting in charge, keeping, or trust, especially:

A measure of efficiency expressed as the amount of work done per unit of energy used.

The act of sending a legislative bill to committee for review.

The total volume of water required to irrigate a given area in order to cultivate a specific crop until harvest.

Official consignment sending a person to prison or a mental health institution.

That which one is morally or legally obligated to do.

Promise or agreement to do something in the future, especially:

The state of being at work and responsible for or doing a particular task.

Act of assuming a financial obligation at a future date.

A tax placed on imports or exports; a tariff.

Being bound emotionally or intellectually to a course of action or to another person or persons.

(obsolete) One's due, something one is owed; a debt or fee.

The trait of sincerity and focused purpose.

(obsolete) Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.

Perpetration as in a crime or mistake.

The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).

State of being pledged or engaged.

That which is due; payment.

The act of being locked away, such as in an institution for the mentally ill or in jail.

That which a person is bound by moral obligation to do, or refrain from doing; that which one ought to do; service morally obligatory.

The act of committing, or putting in charge, keeping, or trust; consignment; esp., the act of committing to prison.

Hence, any assigned service or business; as, the duties of a policeman, or a soldier; to be on duty.

A warrant or order for the imprisonment of a person; - more frequently termed a mittimus.

Specifically, obedience or submission due to parents and superiors.

The act of referring or intrusting to a committee for consideration and report; as, the commitment of a petition or a bill.

Respect; reverence; regard; act of respect; homage.

A doing, or perpetration, in a bad sense, as of a crime or blunder; commission.

The efficiency of an engine, especially a steam pumping engine, as measured by work done by a certain quantity of fuel; usually, the number of pounds of water lifted one foot by one bushel of coal (94 lbs. old standard), or by 1 cwt. (112 lbs., England, or 100 lbs., United States).

The act of pledging or engaging; the act of exposing, endangering, or compromising; also, the state of being pledged or engaged.

Tax, toll, impost, or customs; excise; any sum of money required by government to be paid on the importation, exportation, or consumption of goods.

The trait of sincere and steadfast fixity of purpose;

Work that you are obliged to perform for moral or legal reasons;

The act of binding yourself (intellectually or emotionally) to a course of action;

The social force that binds you to your obligations and the courses of action demanded by that force;

An engagement by contract involving financial obligation;

A government tax on imports or exports;

A message that makes a pledge

The official act of consigning a person to confinement (as in a prison or mental hospital)