Legal consignment, by certification, or voluntarily, of an individual to a mental hospital or institution. [L. com-mitto, to deliver, consign]
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com·mit·ment kə-'mit-mənt n a consignment to a penal or mental institution
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com·mit·ment (kə-mitґmənt) civil commitment; the legal proceeding by which a person is involuntarily confined to a mental hospital or made to undergo outpatient treatment.Medical dictionary. 2011.