tantamount
[tan-tuh-mount]
- equivalent, as in value, force, effect, or signification: His angry speech was tantamount to a declaration of war.
Origin of tantamount
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.comSee equal.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for tantamount
Contemporary Examples
To this aide, these attacks were tantamount to “asking to intervene on the side of ISIS.”
He was given the choice of two years in prison or oestrogen injections, tantamount to chemical castration.
Benedict Cumberbatch on 'The Imitation Game,' Homophobia, and How to Combat ISISMarlow Stern
September 8, 2014
Being shamed by her church was tantamount to losing her community and her job.
For them the 18-day search for the Israeli teens and the manhunt for their captors was tantamount to collective punishment.
Forcing a baby to sleep outside the ‘Family Bed’ is tantamount to neglect.
Historical Examples
He did not answer her, for he could not speak at all; but his silence was tantamount to an admission.
Cleo The MagnificentLouis Zangwill
He made a furious gesture, which was tantamount to sending her to the devil.
His MasterpieceEmile Zola
It would be tantamount to acknowledging she was for sale but that he hadn't the price.
The Paliser caseEdgar Saltus
The average Republican regarded this message as tantamount to a declaration of war.
Union and DemocracyAllen Johnson
This would not do, said the colonel; it was tantamount to insubordination.
Marion's Faith.Charles King
tantamount
- (postpositive foll by to) as good (as); equivalent in effect (to)his statement was tantamount to an admission of guilt
Word Origin
C17: basically from Anglo-French tant amunter to amount to as much, from tant so much + amunter to amount
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for tantamount
adj.
1640s, from verbal phrase tant amount "be equivalent" (1620s), from Anglo-French tant amunter "amount to as much" (late 13c.), from Old French tant "as much" (from Latin tantus, from tam "so") + amonter "amount to, go up" (see amount).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper