tantamount
adjective
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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
Daniel Wallach, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), who led the CBDC ban through the House, said on the floor that a digital dollar would be tantamount to government surveillance.
—Julia Shapero, The Hill, 21 July 2025
Winning the Democratic primary is tantamount to a general election win in the deep blue enclave.
—David Mark, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2025
Prohibiting counsel from discussing the defendant's testimony during an overnight recess is tantamount to preventing counsel from doing his or her job.
—Jenna Sundel, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 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 3 Sep. 2025.
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tantamount
adjective
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