countervail Hear it!

countervail Definition

counter·vail (ko̵unt′ər vāl′, ko̵unt′ər vāl′)

transitive verb

  1. to make up for; compensate
  2. to counteract; be successful, useful, etc. against; avail against
  3. Archaic to match or equal

Etymology: ME countrevailen < OFr contrevaloir < contre (see counter) + valoir, to avail < L valere, to be strong: see value

intransitive verb

to avail (against)

countervail Usage Examples

Object

  • tendency: We contrast them with a countervailing tendency in contemporary ethnographic research.
  • duty: On the other hand, charity trustees are subject to countervailing legal duties to which the individual is not subject.
  • force: The evidence of the last six years also shows the importance of countervailing forces.
  • consideration: However it is necessary in this difficult case to balance this importance factor against a number of countervailing considerations.
  • power: Thus there appears to be a degree of countervailing buyer power.
  • factor: We advocate greater emphasis be placed on addressing these countervailing factors rather than on simply raising the headline tax rate.

Noun phrase with adjective complement

  • effective: Stainless wire: India Definitive anti-dumping and countervailing duties effective July 1999.