From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcounterbalancecoun‧ter‧bal‧ance /ˌkaʊntəˈbæləns $ -tər-/ verb [transitive] EQUALto have an equal and opposite effect to something such as a change, feeling etc Riskier investments tend to be counterbalanced by high rewards. —counterbalance /ˈkaʊntəˌbæləns $ -tər-/ noun [countable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
counterbalance• Fortunately there are strong democratic forces in the country that counterbalance any extremist influences.• His fear of his father is counterbalanced by a genuine respect for him.• Normally the forces from one molecule are counterbalanced by equal attraction by other molecules but at an interface the forces become unbalanced.• The body of penal regulations was counterbalanced by some rewards.• The difference in size between egg and sperm is counterbalanced by the numbers in which they are produced.• The weight of the ensemble was counterbalanced by the tug of transmission cables snaking up into the ceiling.• At present domestic labour is organisationally inefficient because it is not socialised like the industrial sphere, which counterbalances increased productivity through mechanisation.• The company's success in Europe has counterbalanced its weak sales in the U.S.• With no freeboard to counterbalance, the leeward rail pressed down, admitting the flood, and the boy bailed furiously.• The documents he provided for Strype helped counterbalance the reliance upon official sources in Strype's histories of Elizabethan archbishops.• To counterbalance this earthly anchor the only remedy has been self-discipline and mortification of her natural inclinations. 