counterbalance
Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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counterbalancesimple
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counterbalancessimple
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have counterbalancedperfect
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has counterbalancedperfect
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am counterbalancingprogressive
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are counterbalancingprogressive
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is counterbalancingprogressive
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have been counterbalancingperfect progressive
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has been counterbalancingperfect progressive
Past
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counterbalancedsimple
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had counterbalancedperfect
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was counterbalancingprogressive
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were counterbalancingprogressive
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had been counterbalancingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of counterbalance
Vocabulary lists containing counterbalance
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Badlands,” where Springsteen exhorts, “talk about a dream, try to make it real,” comes after “Tom Joad” as a counterbalance to the tale of hope and despair that precedes it.
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
Noting that this year, professional juries were returning to the semi-finals as a counterbalance to the public vote, "we have one of the most safest, secure and fair voting systems," he told reporters.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
Over the past year, some stores raised prices, cut costs and canceled plans to counterbalance more expensive imports.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 1, 2026
Mexico has historically had close ties with Cuba as a way to counterbalance U.S. power in the region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
To counterbalance the effect of these new political allies, the authorities also put a handful of common-law prisoners in our section.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
But as fertility rates fall, migration counterbalances the negative effects of an ageing population and labour force contraction, the report said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
This distant mass counterbalances the Local Group's gravity.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026
But he cites longstanding maritime connections and the military police as reassuring counterbalances.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2023
The world is suffering because of that lack of counterbalances.
From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2022
The angel Raphael counterbalances the weight of his kicking feet by a large goldfish which he is frantically clutching.
From Cathedrals of Spain by John A.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the opinions in Slaughter and Cook, handed them down as a paired set, as though one counterbalanced the other.
From Slate ● Jun. 29, 2026
Yet these worries have been counterbalanced in part by signs that the U.S. economy remains in good shape, with GDP growth remaining solid while the labor market is “hanging in there.”
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 3, 2026
Revenue was as estimated, while successful cost management and increased demand for Asian flights counterbalanced the negative impact of higher jet fuel prices, he adds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Their measurements found that during the day, green spaces are indeed cooler than the surrounding built-up areas, but this effect is often counterbalanced by increased humidity.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2024
Darwin wondered incessantly about a mechanism of heredity that could achieve these counterbalanced properties.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
And then the relationship with Andi is so counterbalancing in a really delightful way.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Another is Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, which adviser Mike Casey, who is based in Alexandria, Va., suggested as a way to provide an inflation hedge for retirees — something that is important beyond simply counterbalancing stocks.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 30, 2026
AWS is crucial for Amazon’s appeal to investors, counterbalancing an online retail operation that is much larger in scope but delivers much thinner margins.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
"Our research suggests that the counterbalancing temperature and emission feedbacks should be considered to improve the accuracy of climate change predictions in the Arctic."
From Science Daily ● Nov. 26, 2024
“I will here express but one sentiment,” Hamilton warned his Federalist colleagues, “which is, the Dismemberment of our Empire will be a clear sacrifice...without any counterbalancing good.”
From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
