noun
- utterances or statements that accomplish an action by being spoken, rather than merely describing something
Usage: linguistics; philosophy of language
Examples
- When the judge says ‘I sentence you,’ those words are performatives that actually carry out the sentencing.
- Wedding vows contain performatives like ‘I promise’ that create commitments through speaking.
- The phrase ‘I apologize’ is a performative that performs the act of apologizing.
- Performatives differ from regular statements because they do things with words.
- In linguistics class, we studied how performatives like ‘I bet’ actually place a wager.
- The declaration ‘I pronounce you married’ is a classic example of performatives in action.