as in offsets
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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Recent Examples of counterweights
Built by the Mosler Safe Company in Ohio, the vault’s doors opened upward, activated by two massive counterweights that swung down at the press of a button.
—
Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
Other items from the ship, including the ballasts that served as counterweights for the human cargo, are remaining on display and will be returned to South Africa in two years.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2026
Other items from the ship, including the ballasts that served as counterweights for the human cargo, are remaining on display and will be returned to South Africa in two years.
—ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
When clinicians practice this way, patients still seek out peers — but as companions, not counterweights.
—Scott Hamilton, STAT, 4 Mar. 2026
When the executive presides over the legislative branch and retains veto authority, meaningful institutional counterweights can become harder to sustain.
—Sara Albrecht, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Each tram has eight passenger cars and is powered by a typical heavy-duty elevator mechanism with cables, counterweights, etc.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
According to the outlets, the pair heard a loud bang and the elevator cabin jammed before eventually falling down the shaft, along with a number of concrete counterweights.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
They should be cultivated as counterweights to an overpowering security establishment.
—Shalom Lipner, Foreign Affairs, 26 Apr. 2018
Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
Other items from the ship, including the ballasts that served as counterweights for the human cargo, are remaining on display and will be returned to South Africa in two years.
—Arkansas Online, 13 Mar. 2026
Other items from the ship, including the ballasts that served as counterweights for the human cargo, are remaining on display and will be returned to South Africa in two years.
—ABC News, 12 Mar. 2026
When clinicians practice this way, patients still seek out peers — but as companions, not counterweights.
—Scott Hamilton, STAT, 4 Mar. 2026
When the executive presides over the legislative branch and retains veto authority, meaningful institutional counterweights can become harder to sustain.
—Sara Albrecht, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Each tram has eight passenger cars and is powered by a typical heavy-duty elevator mechanism with cables, counterweights, etc.
—Kurt Snibbe, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025
According to the outlets, the pair heard a loud bang and the elevator cabin jammed before eventually falling down the shaft, along with a number of concrete counterweights.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
They should be cultivated as counterweights to an overpowering security establishment.
—Shalom Lipner, Foreign Affairs, 26 Apr. 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterweights
Noun
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Future removals, offsets, shifting baselines, and technological breakthroughs can keep many strategies plausible at once.—
London Business School,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
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Our analysis finds that F1 racing could achieve substantial cuts in emissions – but getting all the way to net zero will still require carbon offsets.—
Caitlin Grady,
The Conversation,
19 May 2026
Noun
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The counters were regularly wiped clean because of messy diaper changes and after meals.—
Jenny Hughes,
Parents,
28 May 2026
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The Michelin Guide on Thursday afternoon announced that a pair of chef counters, Emelina in West Palm Beach and Mutra in North Miami, each earned one star.—
Phillip Valys,
Sun Sentinel,
28 May 2026
Noun
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In addition, officials said, another invoice has since gone past its due date, with total overdue balances reaching approximately $916,000.—
Nathan Ansell,
Arkansas Online,
29 May 2026
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But at his best, Bukayo Saka is just as effective, and a left-footer balances the attack out nicely.—
Sarah Shephard,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Noun
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These are all refreshing correctives to the texts that previously stood in for contemporary Japan internationally, including any number of small volumes about magical cafés, bookshops, or libraries, often with cats on their covers.—
Sarah Chihaya,
New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2026
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Some of these values—such as a disciplined commitment to physical fitness—are good and, in my opinion, necessary correctives to the enervating distractions of 21st-century living.—
Dan Brooks,
The Atlantic,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counterweights.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterweights. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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