These words refer to a resolute commitment or a bestowing of honour, credit, reverence or respect. Dedicate can pertain to a formal or public act in which something is metaphorically assigned to the honour or credit of someone who is not its immediate creator: He dedicated the book to his wife; a holiday dedicated to the memory of those who died in the nation’s battles. Parallel to this, a person may dedicate himself to a particular goal; in this case, the word stresses resolution and conviction: He dedicated his life to the abolition of slavery.

Devote relates almost exclusively to this last sense of dedicate, but the word puts less stress on an idealistic commitment and more on something purused out of warmth, affection or personal inclination: a man devoted to his wife; a waster devoted to a life of pleasure-seeking. Even where the word approaches dedicate in use, a more intimate or personal note is felt: She was to devoted herself to a simple life in the service of others.

Consecrate and hallow , both relatively formal, are specifically religious in tone; at their most restricted, they suggest a ritual in which something is set aside for a sacred purpose: consecrated ground; hallowed by Thy name. Both apply outside the religious context to any extreme or solemn commitment, although here, consecrate possibly applies more widely; a truly great ruler who consecrated himself to seeking and upholding the public good; a day set aside to hallow the founding of the country.