1
as in equilibrium
a condition in which opposing forces are equal to one another
a musical piece with a counterpoise of loud and soft passages
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in offset
a force or influence that makes an opposing force ineffective or less effective
the happiness brought by a new baby was a timely counterpoise to the grief occasioned by a death in the family
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to offset
to balance with an equal force so as to make ineffective
her overall healthiness largely counterpoised the virulence of the infection
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of counterpoise
Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023
What’s most remarkable about Torruella’s film is its counterpoise between the sense of raging injustice and the island’s mystic stillness.
—Amada Torruella, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2023
Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
Conflicts of interest are objective situations that arise when a person’s financial interests can be counterpoised to their public responsibilities.
—Matthew Yglesias, Vox, 29 Nov. 2018
Noun
Molina, the embodiment of theatrical excellence, is perfectly cast as the rational counterpoise to Brady’s zealotry.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 7 Nov. 2023
What’s most remarkable about Torruella’s film is its counterpoise between the sense of raging injustice and the island’s mystic stillness.
—Amada Torruella, The New Yorker, 27 Sep. 2023
Verb
Indeed, the Western, that peculiarly American contribution to the world’s store of epic and saga, often depends on the tale of a defeated Confederate at large to enforce virtue, someone whose heroic individualism is counterpoised with the superficial discipline of the federal troops.
—Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2023
Conflicts of interest are objective situations that arise when a person’s financial interests can be counterpoised to their public responsibilities.
—Matthew Yglesias, Vox, 29 Nov. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterpoise
Noun
-
Rather than aiming for a constant fixed equilibrium, dynamic leadership is about ongoing adjustments.—
IESE Business School,
Forbes.com,
10 July 2025
-
His ostentatious well-being is scorned by Walker, who equates equilibrium with compromise.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
However, the proliferation of low-quality or poorly verified offsets dilutes the market's credibility and undermines climate goals.—
Dianne Plummer,
Forbes.com,
8 July 2025
-
That's still a huge offset to the deficit and debt projections coming from the budget bill alone.—
Kelly Evans,
CNBC,
8 July 2025
Verb
-
This means Single-bit errors are automatically corrected in hardware and Double-bit errors are detected and flagged, but not corrected.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
14 July 2025
-
The video has been taken down, corrected, and re-uploaded to our page.—
Peter Aitken,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 July 2025
Noun
-
The erratic seventh season of Love Island USA, which concludes Sunday, offers a counter (somewhat) to the form.—
Aisha Harris,
NPR,
13 July 2025
-
New York — Alpha Oumar Diallo hunches over a kitchen counter at a library café in Brooklyn, his nose hovering above a plastic container of brownie batter.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
13 July 2025
Verb
-
Leaving an open container of baking soda in your fridge can help neutralize odors.—
Taylor Tobin,
Southern Living,
30 June 2025
-
Enzymes in the liver help neutralize harmful substances like drugs and alcohol so they can be safely excreted.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
The full menu features ten alcoholic and ten no-low ABV serves, each carefully modernized using advanced techniques, refined ingredients, and a fresh approach to balance and presentation.—
Amber Love Bond,
Forbes.com,
7 July 2025
-
By the late 1800s, in one of their many acts of unsettling America’s natural balance, white men had hunted wolves and mountain lions to extinction in the East.—
Helen Whybrow
July 7,
Literary Hub,
7 July 2025
Noun
-
But then, China is also in no position to challenge or provide a counterweight to the United States in the region.—
Michael Schuman,
The Atlantic,
6 July 2025
-
Indeed, China and Russia have been leading the effort to form steering groups, such as the BRICS, to serve as counterweights to the G-7 and other bodies dominated by the West.—
Charles A. Kupchan,
Time,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterpoise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterpoise. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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