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
Richard Cherwitz, Sun Sentinel, 6 Jan. 2026
Taking part in this nefarious activity is tantamount to an armed attack, the administration says.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026
Victims of Japanese aggression, especially China and the Koreas, see visits to the shrine as tantamount to a lack of remorse about Japan’s wartime past.
—Mari Yamaguchi, Los Angeles Times, 31 Dec. 2025
In a Christmas Eve sermon on Wednesday, the pope said refusing to help the poor and strangers was tantamount to rejecting God himself.
—Reuters, NBC news, 25 Dec. 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 7 Jan. 2026.
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tantamount
adjective
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