I. prom ‧ ise 1 S2 W2 /ˈprɒməs, ˈprɒmɪs $ ˈprɑː-/ BrE AmE verb
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to tell someone that you will definitely do or provide something or that something will happen:
Last night the headmaster promised a full investigation.
promise to do something
She’s promised to do all she can to help.
promise (that)
Hurry up – we promised we wouldn’t be late.
promise somebody (that)
You promised me the car would be ready on Monday.
‘Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.’ ‘I promise.’
promise something to somebody
I’ve promised that book to Ian, I’m afraid.
promise somebody something
The company promised us a bonus this year.
‘I’ll be back by 1.00.’ ‘Promise?’ ‘Yes! Don’t worry.’
He reappeared two hours later, as promised.
2 . [transitive] to show signs of something
promise to be something
Tonight’s meeting promises to be a difficult one.
dark clouds promising showers later
3 . promise somebody the moon/the earth to promise to give someone something that is impossible for you to give
4 . I can’t promise (anything) spoken used to tell someone that you will try to do what they want, but may not be able to:
I’ll try my best to get tickets, but I can’t promise anything.
5 . I promise you spoken used to emphasize a promise, warning, or statement:
I promise you, it does work!
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THESAURUS
▪ promise to tell someone that you will definitely do something, or that something will happen:
He promised to give the book back.
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The organisers have promised that this year’s event will take place.
▪ swear to make a very serious and sincere promise, for example in a law court:
He had sworn to tell the truth.
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I would never do that, I swear.
▪ give somebody your word especially spoken to promise sincerely that you will do something or that something is true – often used when you are trying to persuade someone that they can trust you:
I give you my word that your money is safe with me.
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I’ll let you go out tonight if you give me your word that you’ll be home by 11.
▪ vow to make a very serious promise, often to yourself:
She vowed that she would never drink alcohol again.
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They vowed to carry on their campaign for justice.
▪ assure to promise someone that something will happen or that something is true, in order to try to make them feel less worried:
Police have assured the public that they are doing everything they can to find the killer.
▪ guarantee to promise that you will make sure that something will definitely happen, so that there is no question of it not happening:
I guarantee that you will have the documents by tomorrow.
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How can you guarantee that this won’t happen again?
▪ pledge to promise publicly or officially that you will do something, for example to give help or money:
The government has pledged to increase overseas aid to $4 billion over the next five years.
▪ undertake formal to make an official or legal promise to do something:
The government undertook to keep price increases to a minimum.
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The two sides undertook to respect each other’s territory.
▪ commit to something formal to make a firm and definite promise to do something important, which will affect you for a long time and which could result in serious effects if you fail:
Bobby felt unready to commit to a romantic relationship.
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A group of 11 companies has committed to developing a new passenger plane.
II. promise 2 S3 W2 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: promissum , from the past participle of promittere 'to send out, promise' ]
1 . [countable] a statement that you will definitely do or provide something or that something will definitely happen
promise of
We received promises of support from several MPs.
promise to
He would never break his promise to his father.
promise to do something
She made a promise to visit them once a month.
promise that
He promised that he’d pick me up.
2 . [uncountable] signs that something or someone will be good or successful:
a young man full of promise
Bill shows great promise as a goalkeeper.
She didn’t fulfil her early promise.
3 . [singular, uncountable] a sign that something, usually something good, may happen
promise of
the promise of spring
The letter gave a promise of greater happiness.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 1)
■ verbs
▪ make a promise
I made a promise to my mother that I’d look after Dad.
▪ keep a promise ( also fulfil a promise British English , fulfill a promise American English formal ) (=do what you promised to do)
She said she would come back, and she kept her promise.
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The mayor has fulfilled his promise to get tough on corruption.
▪ break a promise (=not do what you promised to do)
Once again, the government has broken its promises.
▪ go back on your promise (=break it)
They were angry that the company had gone back on its promise.
▪ renege on a promise formal (=break it)
It is tempting for the government to renege on its promise.
▪ have sb’s promise (=they have promised you something)
‘It’ll remain a secret?’ ‘Yes, you have my promise.’
▪ hold somebody to their promise (=make them keep it)
The next day, Gareth held me to my promise to take him fishing.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + promise
▪ a solemn promise
As governor, I made a solemn promise to defend the laws of the Republic.
▪ a firm promise (=definite)
What had happened to all those firm promises of help?
▪ a vague promise (=not definite)
Larry made some vague promises to leave his wife.
▪ a false/empty/hollow promise (=one that will not be kept)
I didn’t make any false promises.
▪ a broken promise (=one that has not been kept)
There have been too many broken promises.
▪ a campaign/election promise
He was accused of breaking a campaign promise not to raise taxes.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meaning 2)
■ verbs
▪ show promise (=seem likely to be good or successful)
She showed promise as a singer at an early age.
▪ hold promise (=seem likely to be good or successful – used of things)
The Internet clearly held great promise as an educational tool.
▪ fulfil your/its promise ( also live up to your/its promise ) (=be as good as expected)
This young player has begun to fulfil his promise.
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The rest of this movie never quite lives up to the promise of that opening moment.
■ adjectives
▪ great promise
He’d initially shown great promise as a goalkeeper.
▪ early promise
Tracey showed early promise in mathematics.
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THESAURUS
▪ promise a statement that you will definitely do or provide something, which may not be reliable:
‘I’ll call you tomorrow.’ ‘Is that a promise?’
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Politicians are always making promises.
▪ pledge a public or official promise to do a particular thing in the future:
The Government has fulfilled at least 50% of its election pledges.
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We have received pledges of help from various organizations.
▪ vow a very serious promise to do something or not to do something that you choose to make:
He made a vow never to drink alcohol again.
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your marriage vows
▪ oath a formal promise, especially one that someone makes in a court of law:
Witnesses swear a solemn oath to tell the truth.
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Public officials must take an oath to support the US Constitution.
▪ undertaking a serious or public promise to do something, especially something difficult which needs a lot of effort or money:
The police have given an undertaking to reduce street crime in the city centre.
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He was made to sign a written undertaking that he would not go within a mile of her house.
▪ assurance a promise that something will happen or is true, made so that someone is less worried or more confident:
You have my assurance that it won’t happen again.
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The manager gave me his personal assurance that the goods would be delivered today.
▪ guarantee a very definite promise that something will happen. A guarantee is also a formal written promise by a company to repair or replace a product free if it has a fault within a fixed period of time.:
With any diet, there’s no guarantee of success.
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I’m afraid I can’t give you a 100% guarantee.
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Is the camera still under guarantee (=within the period during which it can be repaired or replaced free) ?