Definition of tantamount
: equivalent in value, significance, or effect a relationship tantamount to marriage
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Examples of tantamount in a Sentence
His statement was tantamount to an admission of guilt.
They see any criticism of the President as tantamount to treason.
Recent Examples of tantamount from the Web
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EPA’s stay, in other words, is essentially an order delaying the rule’s effective date, and this court has held that such orders are tantamount to amending or revoking a rule.
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Such a meeting, and the subsequent vote, would be tantamount to treason, as Simsbury citizens existed under the British crown.
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The organization says on its website that lynching was tantamount to terrorism and was used to enforce segregation.
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Defense attorneys had requested Monday’s bond-reduction hearing for Jessica Langlais, arguing that $500,000 is oppressive and tantamount to being held without bail because of the 31-year-old woman’s financial situation.
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While failure to pay interest would be tantamount to default for most debt securities, coupon payments on newer contingent convertible bonds, known as CoCos, are discretionary.
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Other St. Louisans are resisting the move, arguing that removing it would be tantamount to blotting out the history of the Civil War.
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While the PA prides itself on its ability to liaise with its Israeli counterparts on security issues, average Palestinians view this relationship as tantamount to policing the West Bank on behalf of the Israeli army.
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Consequently, transporting it east of Texas was tantamount to bootlegging.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tantamount.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Did You Know?
Tantamount comes from the Anglo-French phrase tant amunter, meaning "to amount to as much." This phrase comes from the Old French tant, meaning "so much" or "as much," and amounter, meaning "to ascend" or "to add up to." When tantamount first entered English, it was used similarly to the Anglo-French phrase, as a verb meaning "to be equivalent." "His not denying tant-amounteth to the affirming of the matter," wrote clergyman Thomas Fuller in 1659, for example. There was also a noun tantamount in the 17th century, but the adjective is the only commonly used form of the term nowadays.
Origin and Etymology of tantamount
obsolete tantamount, noun, equivalent, from Anglo-French tant amunter to amount to as much
TANTAMOUNT Defined for English Language Learners
tantamount
playDefinition of tantamount for English Language Learners
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: equal to something in value, meaning, or effect
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See words that rhyme with tantamount Spanish Central: Translation of tantamount Nglish: Translation of tantamount for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of tantamount for Arabic speakers
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