Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- intransitive verb To act against with equal force; counteract.
- intransitive verb To compensate for; offset.
- intransitive verb To act against an often detrimental influence or power.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To act against or antagonize with equal force or power; act or avail with equivalent effect against; counteract.
- Hence To be or furnish an equivalent of or a compensation for; make good; offset.
- noun Counterbalancing power or weight sufficient to obviate or counteract any effect; equal efficacy or value; compensation; requital.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete Power or value sufficient to obviate any effect; equal weight, strength, or value; equivalent; compensation; requital.
- transitive verb To act against with equal force, power, or effect; to thwart or overcome by such action; to furnish an equivalent to or for; to counterbalance; to compensate.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb obsolete To have the same
value as. - verb To
counteract ,counterbalance orneutralize . - verb To
compensate for.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb oppose and mitigate the effects of by contrary actions
- verb compensate for or counterbalance
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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You don't call it countervail, you call it something else.
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Good imported witch-hazel, every twig ensorcelled by a nasty charm called the countervail that gives even more gold to his rich friends.
Archive 2005-08-01 2005
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Good imported witch-hazel, every twig ensorcelled by a nasty charm called the countervail that gives even more gold to his rich friends.
Dawg's Blawg 2005
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Brazil's economic model, which features a strong government infrastructure to regulate the disruptive effects that free markets can have on social institutions, is a post-Bretton Woods system hybrid that features strategic alliances with France and China that countervail turbulent free market influences that have been the hallmark of more than 80 years of having the US as its major trade partner.
Eric Ehrmann: October Surprises Bring Drama to Brazil's Presidential Race Eric Ehrmann 2010
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Brazil's economic model, which features a strong government infrastructure to regulate the disruptive effects that free markets can have on social institutions, is a post-Bretton Woods system hybrid that features strategic alliances with France and China that countervail turbulent free market influences that have been the hallmark of more than 80 years of having the US as its major trade partner.
Eric Ehrmann: October Surprises Bring Drama to Brazil's Presidential Race Eric Ehrmann 2010
-
Brazil's economic model, which features a strong government infrastructure to regulate the disruptive effects that free markets can have on social institutions, is a post-Bretton Woods system hybrid that features strategic alliances with France and China that countervail turbulent free market influences that have been the hallmark of more than 80 years of having the US as its major trade partner.
Eric Ehrmann: October Surprises Bring Drama to Brazil's Presidential Race Eric Ehrmann 2010
-
Brazil's economic model, which features a strong government infrastructure to regulate the disruptive effects that free markets can have on social institutions, is a post-Bretton Woods system hybrid that features strategic alliances with France and China that countervail turbulent free market influences that have been the hallmark of more than 80 years of having the US as its major trade partner.
Eric Ehrmann: October Surprises Bring Drama to Brazil's Presidential Race Eric Ehrmann 2010
-
Brazil's economic model, which features a strong government infrastructure to regulate the disruptive effects that free markets can have on social institutions, is a post-Bretton Woods system hybrid that features strategic alliances with France and China that countervail turbulent free market influences that have been the hallmark of more than 80 years of having the US as its major trade partner.
Eric Ehrmann: October Surprises Bring Drama to Brazil's Presidential Race Eric Ehrmann 2010
-
Brazil's economic model, which features a strong government infrastructure to regulate the disruptive effects that free markets can have on social institutions, is a post-Bretton Woods system hybrid that features strategic alliances with France and China that countervail turbulent free market influences that have been the hallmark of more than 80 years of having the US as its major trade partner.
Eric Ehrmann: October Surprises Bring Drama to Brazil's Presidential Race Eric Ehrmann 2010
-
Brazil's economic model, which features a strong government infrastructure to regulate the disruptive effects that free markets can have on social institutions, is a post-Bretton Woods system hybrid that features strategic alliances with France and China that countervail turbulent free market influences that have been the hallmark of more than 80 years of having the US as its major trade partner.
Eric Ehrmann: October Surprises Bring Drama to Brazil's Presidential Race Eric Ehrmann 2010
uttarnikhil commented on the word countervail
To act against with equal force; counteract.
v. To compensate for; offset.
v. To act against an often detrimental influence or power
August 31, 2013