A.Word.A.Day --countervail

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countervail

PRONUNCIATION:

(koun-tuhr-VAYL)

MEANING:

verb tr., intr.: To counterbalance or to neutralize.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Old French contrevaloir, from Latin contra (against) + valere (to be strong). Ultimately, from the Indo-European root wal- (to be strong) that is also the source of valiant, avail, valor, value, valetudinarian, polyvalent, and wieldy.

USAGE:

"China is the unique case of a country arming a neighbour with nuclear weapons to countervail a rival."
K. Subrahmanyam; Befriending the Dragon; The Times of India (New Delhi); Jul 5, 2004.

See more usage examples of countervail in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

If you wish to be loved, show more of your faults than your virtues. -Edward Bulwer-Lytton, author (1803-1873)

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