countervail

American  

[koun-ter-veyl] / ˌkaʊn tərˈveɪl /

verb (used with object)

1. to act or avail against with equal power, force, or effect; counteract.

   Synonyms:

   neutralize, counterpoise, counterbalance

2. to furnish an equivalent of or a compensation for; offset.

3. Archaic. to equal.

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verb (used without object)

1. to be of equal force in opposition; avail.

countervail British  

/ ˌkaʊntəˈveɪl, ˈkaʊntəˌveɪl /

verb

1. to act or act against with equal power or force

2. (tr) to make up for; compensate; offset

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Other Word Forms

• uncountervailed adjective

Etymology

Origin of countervail

1350–1400; Middle English contrevailen < Anglo-French countrevail-, tonic stem (subjunctive) of countrevaloir to equal, be comparable to < Latin phrase contrā valēre to be of worth against (someone or something). See counter-, -valent

Example Sentences

We depend on our memory to record, to learn and to recall, and we depend on forgetting to countervail, to sculpt and to squelch our memories.

From New York Times • Mar. 9, 2022

And for years, the company’s actions and public statements have borne the imprint of Musk’s whims, with no moderating force to countervail them.

From Slate • Oct. 2, 2018

Some, indeed, regard them as settling the principles of primordial law, which the constitution itself cannot countervail.

From The American Quarterly Review, No. 17, March 1831 by Walsh, Robert

It would countervail the teachings of the Apostle.

From The Sable Cloud A Southern Tale With Northern Comments (1861) by Adams, Nehemiah

And that fact of itself would be sufficient to countervail almost any objection I might entertain to the passage of this bill not inspired by an imperative and inexorable sense of public duty.

From The Wit and Humor of America, Volume VIII (of X) by Wilder, Marshall Pinckney