I. -nt adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French, from Late Latin aequivalent-, aequivalens, present participle of aequivalēre to have equal power, be equivalent, from Latin aequi- equi- + valēre to be strong, be worth — more at wield
1. : equal in force or amount
the misery of such a position is equivalent to its happiness
a new TV film series that has the equivalent footage of 13 feature pictures
specifically of a quantity : equal in area or volume but not admitting of superposition
a square equivalent to a triangle
2.
a. : like in signification or import
equivalent but differently worded statements of the two writers
: synonymous
substituted a term equivalent with it but more familiar
b. logic : having equivalence : implying each other
3.
a. : equal in value : compensative , convertible
a person who consumes goods or accepts services without producing equivalent goods or performing equivalent services in return inflicts … injury — G.B.Shaw
a sum equivalent to $250 in our currency
a vitamin pill equivalent to four oranges
the decimal 0.75 is equivalent to the fraction 3/4
b. : corresponding or virtually identical especially in effect or function
a bureau of the French army equivalent to the intelligence division of the American general staff
: tantamount
where winning the primary is equivalent to election
c. : capable of being placed in one-to-one correspondence
equivalent mathematical sets
4. obsolete : equal in might or authority
ancestors who stood equivalent with mighty kings — Shakespeare
5. chemistry : having the same combining capacity
equivalent quantities of two elements
6. : contemporaneous in deposition ; sometimes : containing the same fauna or flora — used of strata
7. of a map projection : equal-area
Synonyms: see same
II. noun
( -s )
1. : one that is equivalent (as in value, meaning, or effect)
a price that was the equivalent of 10-years rent
two years of high-school Latin or the equivalent
a word with no equivalent in the English language
the prose equivalent of a poem
the secret Australian ballot … and its mechanical equivalent , the voting machine — H.R.Penniman
: counterpart
the Chinese equivalents of Boston, New York, and Philadelphia
the governor of Jerusalem (the modern equivalent of Pontius Pilate) — H.J.Laski
2. or equivalent weight
a. : the relative mass of an element that has the same combining capacity as a given mass of another element, the standard now usually being eight for oxygen but formerly one for hydrogen : the atomic weight divided by the valence — called also combining weight
b. : the relative mass of a radical or compound that combines with a given mass of an element, radical, or compound
one equivalent of a base reacts with one of an acid to form a normal salt
especially : the mass of a compound that reacts with one equivalent of a given chemical element
3. : a psychopathological symptom replacing the usual one in a given disorder
a twilight state may be an epileptic equivalent
III. adjective
1. : having the same solution set
equivalent equations
2. : related by an equivalence relation