-- TO_TIMESTAMP(date_string,'YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS')
SELECT TO_TIMESTAMP('2021-02-21 23:12:01','YYYY-MM-DD HH24:MI:SS') FROM DUAL;

SELECT TO_DATE('14/07/2021','DD/MM/YYYY') FROM DUAL; WATCH OUT!
/* in the example before if you write '14072021' instead of '14/07/2021' you'll get the same result, if you want an exception to be thrown you should add the prefix 'fx' (force) to the format, so that he will match only the exact format. here's some examples: SELECT TO_DATE('14/07/2021','fxDD/MM/YYYY') FROM DUAL;--WORKS SELECT TO_DATE('14072021','DD/MM/YYYY') FROM DUAL; --WORKS SELECT TO_DATE('14072021','fxDD/MM/YYYY') FROM DUAL;--EXCEPTION */