Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TANTAMOUNT
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pronounce
TANTAMOUNT:
Say it "TAN tuh mount."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
On the show Arrested Development, some of the characters work for a movie studio called Tantamount Studios--a hilarious nod to the real P___moun_ Studios, since "tantamount" means "equivalent," while "p___moun_" means "superior."
Earlier, the show TaleSpin made the same joke:
Both tantamount and the similar-sounding p___moun_ trace back to the Latin mons, "mountain."
So do words like mount, amount, mountain itself, and our word _____mountable, meaning "unclimbable: too huge or too difficult to be dealt with successfully." Can you recall it?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
Take the word "tantamount" and break it apart to see its two Latin roots:
1. The "tant" part comes from a Latin word meaning "as much, of such size."
2. And of course, the "amount" part means "amount."
So "tantamount" literally means "amounting to as much: adding up to the same thing."
Starting in the 1620s, we used the English phrase "tant amount" to mean "to be equal, or to be the same thing."
We don't say that exact phrase "tant amount" anymore. (We've squished it into one word and added the preposition "to.") Today, we say "tantamount to," and it means "equal to," usually in a bad sense.
When one thing is tantamount to a second thing, the first thing is pretty much the same thing as, or just as bad as, the second thing.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: adjective: "this is tantamount to that," "doing this is tantamount to doing that."
Other forms: none are used today.
how to use it:
The word "tantamount" helps you connect the dots between two things, showing how they're the same.
It's a formal word, with a critical tone.
So, when you need to argue that one bad thing has the same effect or the same significance as some other thing that's even worse, use the phrase "Thing 1 is tantamount to Thing 2."
Like this: "The assassination was tantamount to a declaration of war." "Silence is tantamount to an admission of guilt." "Ignoring a crime is tantamount to excusing it." "Letting someone cut in front of you in line is tantamount to cutting in front of every single person behind you." "Stepping on a Lego is tantamount to stepping on a fistful of knives."
So, we most often use "tantamount" to connect two dots. To draw an equals sign between two things.
But we can also use it to stop people from connecting two dots: to slash through the equals sign they've drawn. We do that by saying that one thing is not tantamount to another. "Silence isn't tantamount to permission." "Wearing leather isn't tantamount to slaughtering animals." Here's Scientific American: "Removing firearms from a home for four to six weeks during the high-risk period following a hospitalization is not tantamount to stripping someone of their right to bear arms."
examples:
"Controlling the river became tantamount to controlling the people, and... state and society became trapped in an increasingly unsustainable hydraulic infrastructure."
— Andrea Janku, Nature, 4 August 2016
"Root scratched his chin. 'I don't know. We're on shaky ground here legally.''
'Not at all,' argued Cumulus. 'It's elementary grammar. The human specifically stated that entry was forbidden as long as he was alive. That's tantamount to an invitation when he's dead.'"
— Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl, 2001
has this page helped you understand "tantamount"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "tantamount" without saying "equivalent to" or "indistinguishable from."
try it out:
Often, you can use the word "tantamount" for humor or surprise as you highlight how ridiculous you think something is:
"Banning her to her room is tantamount to drowning a fish. She loves it in there."
Here's Peter Coy for Bloomberg: "A vote for tax cuts today is tantamount to a vote for tax hikes tomorrow."
Here's Mike Terwilliger, talking to Reuters: "Investors missing this rate move is tantamount to letting yourself get run over by a glacier."
Here's Mary Berner, talking to Politico: "Measuring magazine media's health by the current method of limited or isolated metrics (print ad pages and single-copy sales are now less than 10 percent of total circulation) is misleading. It's tantamount to measuring morning drive time by only counting drivers in blue sedans or box office by the number of opening commercials that are shown at the multiplex."
With these examples in mind, create your own: "(Something) is tantamount to (something else that's silly, ridiculous, or self-defeating)."
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
This month, our game is called "Fix the Grand Spell which was Cast by Short Words."
(Or, in monstrously inflated terms, the game is called "Rewrite the Extraordinary Incantation which was Executed by Monosyllabic Vocables.")
In each issue, I'll offer a familiar quote that I've heartlessly hypertrophied with polysyllabic transplants. You'll restore the quote to its original version, with each word just one syllable long.
That is to say, I'll share a fat, fake draft of a famed quote; you'll say the trim real one.
For example, if I say "Exploit an opportunity while the situation allows," then you say, "Make hay while the sun shines." If I say, "Durations remedy every laceration," then you say, "Time heals all wounds."
From the previous issue:
"Some feathered creatures are not intended to be incarcerated, that's the extent of the matter." --> "Some birds are not meant to be caged, that's all."
Try this today: "My bestowal is my musical composition, and this composition's for you."
Say that, but in words of one beat each.
Clues:
Where it's from: a song.
The year we first heard it: 1969.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of TANTAMOUNT TO is
A. MOOCHED OFF OF.
B. OFTEN CONFUSED WITH.
C. SHARPLY DISTINGUISHED FROM.
2. Sometimes you have to remind yourself: _____ isn't tantamount to _____.
A. taking a break .. giving up
B. a single bad grade on a quiz .. your academic career
C. making a little mistake .. discovering a way to improve
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
On the show Arrested Development, some of the characters work for a movie studio called Tantamount Studios--a hilarious nod to the real P___moun_ Studios, since "tantamount" means "equivalent," while "p___moun_" means "superior."
Take the word "tantamount" and break it apart to see its two Latin roots:
Part of speech: adjective: "this is tantamount to that," "doing this is tantamount to doing that."
The word "tantamount" helps you connect the dots between two things, showing how they're the same.
"Controlling the river became tantamount to controlling the people, and... state and society became trapped in an increasingly unsustainable hydraulic infrastructure."
Explain the meaning of "tantamount" without saying "equivalent to" or "indistinguishable from."
Often, you can use the word "tantamount" for humor or surprise as you highlight how ridiculous you think something is:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1. A near opposite of TANTAMOUNT TO is
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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