équivaloir

Senses

1. 1.

   to be equivalent to

   to have the same value or importance as something else

2. 2.

   to amount to

   to be tantamount to or effectively the same as

Examples

• "Refuser cette offre équivaudrait à renoncer à une belle opportunité."

  Refusing this offer would amount to giving up a great opportunity.

• "Ces deux solutions équivalent en termes de coût et d'efficacité."

  These two solutions are equivalent in terms of cost and effectiveness.

• "Un diplôme étranger ne équivaut pas automatiquement à un diplôme français."

  A foreign diploma is not automatically equivalent to a French diploma.

Usage

Formal and technical register. Commonly used in legal, academic, and official contexts. Often paired with "à" (être équivalent à, équivaloir à). Note: this is a defective verb-it is rarely conjugated in all tenses and typically appears in infinitive or third-person forms.