equivalence
/ɪˈkwɪv.ə.ləns/noun, verb
equivalence is spelled E-Q-U-I-V-A-L-E-N-C-E: 11 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, equivalence means “The condition of being equivalent or essentially equal: the status of being interchangeable” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of equivalence is equivalences.
How many letters and syllables are in equivalence?
| Letters | 11: E-Q-U-I-V-A-L-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.5 times per million words; the 23,253rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is equivalence?
Equivalence appears 1.5 times per million words in written English, the 23,253rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce equivalence?
- US /ɪˈkwɪv.ə.ləns/
- /əˈkwəv.ə.ləns/
Equivalence has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vininn126-equivalence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of equivalence
- equivalences plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- equivalencing participle, present
- equivalenced participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does equivalence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The condition of being equivalent or essentially equal: the status of being interchangeable.
His answer and yours share equivalence.
- 2
An act of equating two things; an assertion of equivalence.
I disagree with his equivalence of his behavior with that of an overexcited teenager.
- 3
The relationship between two propositions that are either both true or both false.
- 4
An equivalence relation; ≡; ~.
- 5
A Boolean operation that is TRUE when both input variables are TRUE or both input variables are FALSE, but otherwise FALSE; the XNOR function.
- 6
A number in intersection theory. A positive-dimensional variety sometimes behaves formally as if it were a finite number of points; this number is its equivalence.
- 7
The quantity of the combining power of an atom, expressed in hydrogen units; the number of hydrogen atoms can combine with, or be exchanged for; valency.
- 8
The state of two notes being separated by one octave or the similarity of two such notes.
verb
- 1
To be equivalent or equal to; to counterbalance.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Equivalence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | équivalence |
| German | Gleichwertigkeit , Äquivalenz |
| Portuguese | equivalência |
| Spanish | equivalencia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does equivalence come from?
From French équivalence, from Medieval Latin aequivalentia.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).