commit may express the general idea of delivering into another's charge or the special sense of transferring to a superior power or to a special place of custody.
committed the felon to prison
entrust implies committing with trust and confidence.
the president is entrusted with broad powers
confide implies entrusting with great assurance or reliance.
confided complete control of my affairs to my attorney
consign suggests removing from one's control with formality or finality.
consigned the damaging notes to the fire
relegate implies a consigning to a particular class or sphere often with a suggestion of getting rid of.
relegated to an obscure position in the company
Example Sentences
She consigned the painting to an auction house. The goods were consigned to him.
Recent Examples on the WebEsola’s Elmer gazes delightedly at the prospect of a liberated future while holding fast to the fate that will consign him to an early grave as one of the first notable casualties of the Civil War. Charles Mcnulty, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2022 Instead, his tawdry decline now threatens to consign the Borbóns to the trash heap of history—along with the Romanovs, the Habsburgs, and other defunct dynasties. Joshua Hammer, Town & Country, 21 Aug. 2022 Witold Pilecki was never able to consign the past to the past in the same way. Andrew Stuttaford, WSJ, 5 Aug. 2022 In a world that seeks to consign to the shadows those who don’t conform, Osunde’s vagabonds act as an illuminating force for one another.The New Yorker, 9 May 2022 The quickly evolving situation is sparking yet another controversy over whether the desperation to consign the virus to history is being driven by science or politics. Stephen Collinson, CNN, 8 Feb. 2022 Never are we allowed to forget that the founders were self-interested fathers, heedless of women as thinking citizens and ready to consign people of color to history’s ashbin. Bob Verini, Variety, 6 June 2022 Save your fingers by saving the scrap for broth or consign it to the compost.Washington Post, 2 May 2022 As played by the generally insufferable Jared Leto, who again emerges as eminently slappable, Michael Morbius is a crippled super-scientist lamed by a DNA defect that will consign him to an early grave. Kyle Smith, National Review, 1 Apr. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle French consigner, from Latin consignare, from com- + signum sign, mark, seal — more at sign