countervail[verb]Synonyms: compensate, atone (for), balance, counterbalance, counterpoise, make up, offset, outweigh, redeem, set off
Related Words: amend,
correct,
rectify,
foil,
frustrate,
thwart,
overcome,
surmount [TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲
countervail verb & noun.
[kaʊntǝ'veɪl] LME.[Anglo-Norman countrevaloir repr. Latin contra valere be of worth against: see CONTRA, VAIL verb1.]A. verb.
1. verb trans. Be equivalent to in value.
LME-M17.2. verb trans. Make up for (damage, trouble, etc.), be compensation for. Formerly also, give compensation for.
LME.■ Addison It..more than countervails all the calamities and afflictions which can possibly befal us.3. verb intrans.a. Be of equal force or weight on the contrary side; avail
against. (Also foll. by
with,
for.)
LME.■ H. A. L. Fisher Such is human nature that great calamities provoke..countervailing efforts.b. Be equivalent or equal; vie
with.
M-L16.4. verb trans. Equal, match; be equivalent to.
arch. M16.b. Make an equivalent return for, reciprocate.
L16-M17.5. verb trans. Avail or be effective against; offset the effect of, counterbalance.
M16.countervailing duty: put on imports to offset a subsidy in the exporting country or a tax on similar goods not from abroad.
Sunday Times Philby's accession to secret work did something to countervail the rather strong MI5 bias.6. verb trans. Act against or resist with equal physical force.
L16-M17.b. noun. Something which countervails; an equivalent. Now
rare or
obsolete.
L15. [TahlilGaran] English Dictionary ▲