tantamount
adjective
Did you know?
Although tantamount (from the Anglo-French phrase tant amunter, meaning “to amount to as much”) was used three different ways in the early 17th century—as a noun, verb, and adjective—the adjective form has since proven paramount to English users: it’s still in use while the noun and verb are obsolete. This is not to say that the adjective hasn’t experienced change over the years. While it was once acceptable to use tantamount in a variety of different sentence structures, nowadays it is almost always followed by the word to. And to use it before a noun, as in “the two old friends exchanged tantamount greetings,” would now be considered, er, tantamount to riding a penny-farthing or boneshaker onto the expressway.
Examples of tantamount in a Sentence
The Athletic Nfl Staff, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
His framing instead relied on the dubious proposition that drug smuggling is tantamount to violent aggression.
—Jacob Sullum, Oc Register, 25 Sep. 2025
Last week, critics accused the FCC’s Carr of improperly exerting pressure on ABC and local broadcasters to cancel Kimmel — and that his threats were tantamount to a First Amendment violation.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 23 Sep. 2025
Obtaining control of the Active Directory is tantamount to obtaining a master key that will open any door in a restricted building.
—Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for tantamount
Cite this Entry
“Tantamount.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tantamount. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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tantamount
adjective
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