counterbalance

[noun koun-ter-bal-uhns; verb koun-ter-bal-uhns]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR counterbalance ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a weight balancing another weight; an equal weight, power, or influence acting in opposition; counterpoise.

verb (used with or without object), coun·ter·bal·anced, coun·ter·bal·anc·ing.

to act against or oppose with an equal weight, force, or influence; offset.

Nearby words

Origin of counterbalance

First recorded in 1570–80; counter- + balance

SYNONYMS FOR counterbalance

2. correct, countervail, rectify, balance.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR counterbalance ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·coun·ter·bal·anced, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for counterbalance

As an alternative religious player, says Greaves, the Satanic Temple provides yet another “counterbalance.”
Satan Is Coming to Oklahoma|Michelle Cottle|December 10, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The goal: to get them to reconsider Likud as a counterbalance to Bennett's scary religiosity.
Netanyahu's Feminist Posturing|Elisheva Goldberg|January 3, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Like it or not, some companies will need to function as a counterbalance if publishers are to survive as a species.
Why Random and Penguin Must Merge—And When They Almost Did|Gayle Feldman|November 9, 2012|DAILY BEAST
So to counterbalance the Court's criticism of our ancestors, let me say a word in their praise: they left us free to change.
Supremes Won't Save GOP From Itself on Obamacare|David Frum|March 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST

He used their weight to counterbalance them, each with one foot on the ground.
Europe's Dangerous Sex Craze|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST
John thought of all the sins which he had committed, and found no good deeds to counterbalance them.
The Son of a Servant|August Strindberg
Congreve makes twelve thousand pounds more than a counterbalance to the affection of Belinda.
Curiosities of Literature, Vol. II (of 3)|Isaac Disraeli
A revival of religion to counterbalance, as it were, the revival of brutality, is a recurring phenomenon of great wars.
The Creed of the Old South 1865-1915|Basil L. Gildersleeve
She no longer needed the Protestants to counterbalance the Guises and the Constable.
A History of the Reformation (Vol. 2 of 2)|Thomas M. Lindsay
To counterbalance these motives was the danger, whatever it might amount to, and which did not weigh heavily on my mind.
The Expedition to Borneo of H.M.S. Dido|Henry Keppel

British Dictionary definitions for counterbalance

counterbalance

noun (ˈkaʊntəˌbæləns)

a weight or force that balances or offsets another

verb (ˌkaʊntəˈbæləns) (tr)

to act as a counterbalance

Also called: counterpoise

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for counterbalance

counterbalance

1570s, from counter- + balance (v.), in reference to scales. Figurative use dates from 1630s. As a noun, from c.1600.

counterbalance

noun

verb (used with or without object), coun·ter·bal·anced, coun·ter·bal·anc·ing.

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Nearby words

Origin of counterbalance

Examples from the Web for counterbalance

counterbalance

noun (ˈkaʊntəˌbæləns)

verb (ˌkaʊntəˈbæləns) (tr)

counterbalance