equipoise

1 of 2

noun

equi·​poise ˈe-kwə-ˌpȯiz How to pronounce equipoise (audio)
ˈē-
1
: a state of equilibrium
2

equipoise

2 of 2

verb

equipoised; equipoising; equipoises

transitive verb

1
: to serve as an equipoise to
2
: to put or hold in equipoise

Examples of equipoise in a Sentence

Noun when participating in any dangerous sport, one should maintain an equipoise between fearless boldness and commonsense caution her frugality is a much-needed equipoise to her husband's spendthrift ways
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
One of the current Bonapartist pretenders—there are two, with different lineage—the Prince Murat, a descendant of Napoleon’s brother-in-law, was so offended by this that he was moved to write indignantly in Le Figaro on behalf of the Emperor’s erotic equipoise. Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 30 Nov. 2023 Related: Primary care physicians are learning how to fill the gaps in gender-affirming medicine The principle of clinical equipoise holds that, when starting a trial, researchers must be uncertain about whether the control group or the treatment group is most likely to benefit. Theresa Gaffney, STAT, 15 Sep. 2023 Contra earlier models there isn't a monotonic decrease in the rate of adaptation as a function of complexity, but rather an increase until to an equipoise, before a subsequent decrease. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 4 Oct. 2010 Rather than simply making assumptions about what the best next steps are, each employer and employee should look to deliberately evaluate and understand the pros, cons, and points of equipoise of their specific business environments, and then develop a dynamic approach to shape new best practices. Bob Kulhan, Forbes, 3 June 2021 In many species there is an equipoise of relatedness (e.g., philopatric frogs). Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2012 The frequency of the allele is balanced at the equipoise between the proportion of people who are more susceptible to malaria if its proportion is too low and those who express sickle cell anemia if its proportion is too high. Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 25 July 2011 In this world, the golden mean does not exist and equipoise is a pipe dream. Kent Sepkowitz, CNN, 5 Nov. 2022 But when the Shirtless Judo Cowboy barged into Crimea and Ukraine in 2014, the equipoise between Finland and Russia was suddenly upset. Stuart Stevens, Outside Online, 12 Dec. 2017
Verb
The authors do a great job demonstrating that allowing respect for autonomy has, at a minimum, equipoise with the authoritarian approach, if not superiority, when considering a range of measures of health and happiness. WSJ, 3 Jan. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'equipoise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

1658, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1664, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of equipoise was in 1658

Dictionary Entries Near equipoise

Cite this Entry

“Equipoise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equipoise. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

equipoise

noun
equi·​poise
ˈek-wə-ˌpȯiz,
ˈē-kwə-
1
: a state of balance : equilibrium
2
: a weight used to balance another weight
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