countervail
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to act or avail against with equal power, force, or effect; counteract.
- Synonyms:
- neutralize, counterpoise, counterbalance
-
to furnish an equivalent of or a compensation for; offset.
-
Archaic. to equal.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to act or act against with equal power or force
-
(tr) to make up for; compensate; offset
Other Word Forms
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
Explanation
To countervail is to oppose something successfully. To countervail is to counteract, counterbalance, or neutralize. This verb is best known to us in the form of its participle countervailing, which gets far more time in the limelight as an adjective than countervail gets as a verb. A favorite combo these days is countervailing duty, a duty imposed on imports to match (or retaliate for) what a foreign government is imposing. You could say a running back was countervailed if a defensive player stops him in his tracks.
Vocabulary lists containing countervail
Romeo and Juliet
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"The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet," Vocabulary from Act 2
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The Nickel Boys
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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.
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
It will stick with the more ignorant and the populace, though men of wisdom may smile at it; and the reputation won with many will amply countervail the disdain of a few....
From Oscar Wilde, His Life and Confessions Volume 1 by Harris, Frank
It will stick with the more ignorant and the populace, though men of wisdom may smile at it; and the reputation won with many will amply countervail the disdain of a few….
From Studies in Literature by Morley, John
Come what sorrow may, It cannot countervail the exchange of joy That one short minute gives me in her sight.
From Characteristics of Women Moral, Poetical, and Historical by Jameson, Mrs. (Anna)
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.
