equivalence

[ ih-kwiv-uh-luhns or, for 3, ee-kwuh-vey-luhns ]

/ ɪˈkwɪv ə ləns or, for 3, ˌi kwəˈveɪ ləns /

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See synonyms for equivalence on Thesaurus.com

noun Also equivalency (for defs. 1, 2).

the state or fact of being equivalent; equality in value, force, significance, etc.

an instance of this; an equivalent.

Chemistry. the quality of having equal valence.

Logic, Mathematics.

Also called material implication. the relation between two propositions such that the second is not false when the first is true.
Also called material equivalence. the relation between two propositions such that they are either both true or both false.
the relation between two propositions such that each logically implies the other.

adjective

(of a logical or mathematical relationship) reflexive, symmetrical, and transitive.

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Origin of equivalence

1535–45; <Middle French <Medieval Latin aequivalentia, equivalent to Latin aequivalent-equivalent + -ia-ia; see -ence

OTHER WORDS FROM equivalence

non·e·quiv·a·lence, noun

Words nearby equivalence

equity of redemption, equity security, equity stock, equity weighting, equiv., equivalence, equivalence class, equivalence principle, equivalence relation, equivalency, equivalent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use equivalence in a sentence

With subtlety and a solemnity reflecting key events in Claire’s past, Evans offers a powerful refusal of the false equivalence.
In Danielle Evans’s ‘The Office of Historical Corrections,’ the sorrows are personal but also deeply historical|Chaya Bhuvaneswar|January 15, 2021|Washington Post
There is no decision on so-called equivalence, which would allow firms to sell their services into the single market from the City of London.
The key terms of the Brexit trade deal: Everything you need to know|Rachel King|December 25, 2020|Fortune
Many scientists suspect that the new theory will violate the equivalence principle by an amount too small to have been detected with tests performed thus far.
Galileo’s famous gravity experiment holds up, even with individual atoms|Emily Conover|October 28, 2020|Science News
Last year, the EU withdrew equivalence from Switzerland, effectively prohibiting the trading of EU-listed securities there.
In London, a Europe-heavy stock exchange is facing down Brexit|kdunn6|October 8, 2020|Fortune

Riehl hopes that their reframing will make higher category theory accessible to more mathematicians while offering new insights into why the mathematics of equivalence is so powerful.
Conducting the Mathematical Orchestra From the Middle|Rachel Crowell|September 2, 2020|Quanta Magazine
Bratton might have said something that was closer to a real-world moral equivalence.
Memo to Cops: Criticisms Aren’t Attacks|Michael Tomasky|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He was trying, I think, to demonstrate balance and equivalence.
Memo to Cops: Criticisms Aren’t Attacks|Michael Tomasky|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And no one is better equipped to refute this false equivalence than Mack herself.
Stop Blaming Christy Mack: Porn Stars Don’t Deserve to Be Beaten|Samantha Allen|August 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The equivalence between comic books and Scripture is telling of how seriously canon is taken by these fans.
DC Comics’ Diversity Crisis: Why the Status Quo Rules|Liz Watson|July 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Moral equivalence and malaise, rather than red-hot ideology, motivates Haydon.
Iran’s Top Spy Is the Modern-Day Karla, John Le Carré’s Villainous Mastermind|Michael Weiss|July 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The several forms of energy are interconvertible, and possess an exact quantitative equivalence.
A History of the Growth of the Steam-Engine|Robert H. Thurston
Written language is thus a point-to-point equivalence, to borrow a mathematical phrase, to its spoken counterpart.
Language|Edward Sapir
Those of most other countries have either not yet been fully studied or their exact equivalence remains undetermined.
Mythical Monsters|Charles Gould
The experiments of Rumford, Davy, and Joule were instrumental in establishing the equivalence of mechanical energy and heat.
The New Gresham Encyclopedia|Various
The exact equivalence between the mechanical energy lost and the heat produced is the thing to be especially noticed here.
The Popular Science Monthly, September, 1900|Various

British Dictionary definitions for equivalence

equivalence

equivalency

/ (ɪˈkwɪvələns) /

noun

the state of being equivalent or interchangeable

maths logic

the relationship between two statements, each of which implies the other
Also called: biconditional the binary truth-function that takes the value true when both component sentences are true or when both are false, corresponding to English if and only if . Symbol: ≡ or ↔, as in –(p ∧ q) ≡ – p ∨ – q

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

equivalence

Origin of equivalence

OTHER WORDS FROM equivalence

Words nearby equivalence

Words related to equivalence

How to use equivalence in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for equivalence

equivalency