Verb
her overall healthiness largely counterpoised the virulence of the infection Noun
a musical piece with a counterpoise of loud and soft passages
the happiness brought by a new baby was a timely counterpoise to the grief occasioned by a death in the family
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
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
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'counterpoise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English countrepesen, from Anglo-French contrepeser, from cuntre- + peser to weigh — more at poise
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