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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
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
-
Unlike private debts, these types of federal debts can sometimes result in benefit offsets or other collection actions.
-
Other companies offering soil carbon offsets include Denmark’s Agreena, which describes itself as the largest soil carbon program in Europe.
Noun
-
The team’s coaches and players agreed to use their downtime to relearn the team’s defensive principles and to implement effective counters, such as a zone defense.
-
That decrease in crowd size didn't seem to affect business too negatively, as lines for indoor and window counters extended out the door and around the building throughout the morning.
Noun
-
Those with higher balances will have more time to repay their loans, which will result in smaller monthly payments.
-
On the other side are banks and card issuers with payment credentials, points balances, financing capabilities and rich consumer data.
Noun
-
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.
-
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.
Cite this Entry
“Counterweights.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterweights. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
