counterpoise

American  

[kaun-ter-poiz] / ˈkaʊn tərˌpɔɪz /

noun

1. a counterbalancing weight.

2. any equal and opposing power or force.

3. the state of being in equilibrium; balance.

4. Radio. a network of wires or other conductors connected to the base of an antenna, used as a substitute for the ground connection.

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verb (used with object)

counterpoised, counterpoising

1. to balance by an opposing weight; counteract by an opposing force.

2. to bring into equilibrium.

3. Archaic. to weigh (one thing) against something else; consider carefully.

counterpoise British  

/ ˈkaʊntəˌpɔɪz /

noun

1. a force, influence, etc, that counterbalances another

2. a state of balance; equilibrium

3. a weight that balances another

4. a radial array of metallic wires, rods, or tubes arranged horizontally around the base of a vertical aerial to increase its transmitting efficiency

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verb

1. to oppose with something of equal effect, weight, or force; offset

2. to bring into equilibrium

3. archaic to consider (one thing) carefully in relation to another

Etymology

Origin of counterpoise

1375–1425; counter- + poise ¹; replacing late Middle English countrepeis < Anglo-French, equivalent to Old French contrepois

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

counterpoise counterpoised counterpoising

Molina, the embodiment of theatrical excellence, is perfectly cast as the rational counterpoise to Brady’s zealotry.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2023

Hope, Berger proposed, is what we counterpoise to the essential revelation of history—that we’ll decline, that we’ll die.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 9, 2017

What Sofiya succeeds in doing in her novel is to counterpoise, to her husband’s inability to conjure love, her own utterly different vision.

From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2015

At times Bond acts as a counterpoise to Wanamaker's despair; at other times, as when she voices Eleanor's escalating insecurities, she brings her own tragic intensity to the role.

From The Guardian ● May 7, 2013

To equal in number, weight, force, or proportion; to counterpoise, counterbalance, counteract, or neutralize.

From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Noah Webster

In a cluttered information age, where attention is a prized and scarce commodity, Nuzzi and Lizza—with their perfectly counterpoised surnames—have somehow broken through.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 6, 2025

In the more lush musical passages, she counterpoised a subtle sense of freeze-framing, with the dancers halting momentarily so we could absorb the length and reach of their unfolding shapes.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 25, 2019

It’s composed in a rare register: mourning and fury counterpoised by humor and a refusal of despair.

From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2018

The drama of her grieving swoon is conveyed not by flourishes but by sobriety — broad, smooth, unadorned garments counterpoised with deep shadows cast in their folds.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2017

What is stupidly said of Shakspeare, is really true and appropriate of Chapman; mighty faults counterpoised by mighty beauties.

From Literary Remains, Volume 1 by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Attached to the suspending machinery are two counterpoising weights, which being less heavy than the waggon laden with coal, do not impede its descent.

From A Yacht Voyage Round England by William Henry Giles Kingston

This fatal instance of the inveteracy of this disorder, when once introduced into the colony, has not been without its counterpoising benefit.

From Statistical, Historical and Political Description of the Colony of New South Wales and its Dependent Settlements in Van Diemen's Land With a Particular Enumeration of the Advantages Which These Colonies Offer for Emigration, and Their Superiority in Many Respects Over Those Possessed by the United States of America by William Charles Wentworth

Peace, as opposed to war, is a tremendous counterpoising of forces, and it simply means an organised resistance.

From Father Payne by Arthur Christopher Benson

The counterpoising or balancing medium consisted of money to be given to the Church.

From The Mysteries of All Nations Rise and Progress of Superstition, Laws Against and Trials of Witches, Ancient and Modern Delusions Together With Strange Customs, Fables, and Tales by James Grant

He returns to his main thesis, and other counterpoising arguments occur to him.

From Plum Pudding Of Divers Ingredients, Discreetly Blended & Seasoned by Christopher Morley

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