From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcounterpointcoun‧ter‧point /ˈkaʊntəpɔɪnt $ -ər-/ noun 1 [uncountable]APM the combination of two or more tunes played together so that they sound like one tunein counterpoint to something The viola is exactly in counterpoint to the first violin.2 [countable]APM a tune that is one part of counterpoint3 [countable, uncountable] when two things that are different are compared in an interesting or pleasant waycounterpoint to I have used my interviews with parents as a counterpoint to a professional judgement.
Examples from the Corpus
counterpoint• The government trading desk was a counterpoint to the visible gluttony and ethnicity of the mortgage department.• The plainness of the rooms in this series makes an interesting counterpoint to the fanciful objects and people that inhabit them.• Water chestnuts and snow peas provided a light counterpoint to the duck.• These warnings against an excess of counterpoint are really concerned with emotive beauty in music.• This is a style of wheat beer that I especially enjoy, with its teasing counterpoint of tartness and chocolate-malt sweetness.• The gnarly Texas scrub provides a vivid counterpoint to the fading sunlight.Origin counterpoint (1400-1500) French contrepoint, from Medieval Latin contrapunctus, from contra- ( → CONTRA-) + punctus “musical note, tune” 