countervail
/ˈkaʊntəveɪl/verb
countervail is spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-V-A-I-L: 11 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, countervail means “To counter, counteract, counterbalance, neutralize, or negate” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in countervail?
| Letters | 11: C-O-U-N-T-E-R-V-A-I-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 56 million words; the 234,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is countervail?
Countervail appears about once in every 56 million words in written English, the 234,209th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce countervail?
- UK /ˈkaʊntəveɪl/
Countervail has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-countervail.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of countervail
- countervails present, singular, he/she/it
- countervailing participle, present
- countervailed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does countervail mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo have the same value or number as.
- 2
To counter, counteract, counterbalance, neutralize, or negate.
- 3
To compensate for.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does countervail come from?
From Anglo-Norman countrevaloir (Old French contrevaloir), from Latin contrā valēre (“to be strong against”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).