as in offset
a force or influence that makes an opposing force ineffective or less effective
hard work can often be a counterweight to modest intelligence
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of counterweight
Menin, an Upper East Side Democrat who’s seen as a centrist counterweight to Mayor Mamdani’s administration, is expected to make the appointments at a Council meeting Thursday where picks for all of the body’s other committee chairpersons will also be announced, the sources said.
—
Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
Tariffs raise prices, reduce consumer surplus, and protect domestic producers, with employment effects offered as a counterweight.
—Gerald Bradshaw, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
But there is no counterweight to the regime that might help change the country’s direction.
—Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Just next door to Venezuela lies Guyana, where Forbes Burnham rose to power during the Cold War with external backing that viewed him as a strategic counterweight rather than a democratic choice.
—Rick Singh, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for counterweight
Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 15 Jan. 2026
Tariffs raise prices, reduce consumer surplus, and protect domestic producers, with employment effects offered as a counterweight.
—Gerald Bradshaw, Chicago Tribune, 12 Jan. 2026
But there is no counterweight to the regime that might help change the country’s direction.
—Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 11 Jan. 2026
Just next door to Venezuela lies Guyana, where Forbes Burnham rose to power during the Cold War with external backing that viewed him as a strategic counterweight rather than a democratic choice.
—Rick Singh, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for counterweight
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterweight
Noun
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Houses have been being built here since the early 1900s, and so there's different offsets.—
Ted Scouten,
CBS News,
7 Jan. 2026
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Top with half of the Nutella, swirling it into the batter with a small offset spatula or a butter knife.—
Midwest Living,
Midwest Living,
31 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Soda drinkers have been experimenting with mash-ups for decades — ever since fast-food restaurants moved soda machines out from behind the counter and gave customers free rein to mix their own drinks, Tofel said.—
Brittany Anas,
Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2026
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Once a counter-puncher, Svitolina plays a more aggressive style since returning from maternity leave.—
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Unlike earlier models limited to upper-body tasks, Helix 02 uses a single neural network to control walking, manipulation, and balance together, directly from raw sensor data.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
28 Jan. 2026
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Dickerson and Stephens are both current on their car loans and working with National Debt Relief to reduce their credit card balances.—
Chris Isidore,
CNN Money,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Move Beyond Single Stocks With A Multi-Asset Portfolio Individual selections can be volatile; however, diversified assets counterbalance one another.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
28 Jan. 2026
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Higdon added that bystander videos have been a vital counterbalance to police abuses, pointing to the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer that became notorious only after a citizen’s video contradicted an initial police account.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
23 Jan. 2026
Noun
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The Young Hoteliers Academy positions itself as a corrective.—
Daniel Fusch,
USA Today,
30 Oct. 2025
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His most ambitious series to date, Pluribus can be seen as a corrective of sorts—a grand, artful, mind-bendingly philosophical, darkly funny, sometimes heartbreaking, but consistently humane vindication of our fractious species.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
27 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterweight.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterweight. Accessed 1 Feb. 2026.
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