countervailing

/ˌkaʊntəˈveɪlɪŋ/

//ˌkaʊntəˈveɪlɪŋ// adj

"countervailing" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“countervailing” is uncommon English (frequency #74,852 among 5,599 “C” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#74,852
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Compensating with equal force.

Corpus desk

Index EN-countervailing · countervailing · English

countervailing · rank #74,852 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #74,852
  • LEN-MEGA 14 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH countywide

Nearest frequency peer: countywide (+1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “countervailing”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “countervailing” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for countervailing
PropertyValue
Headwordcountervailing
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌkaʊntəˈveɪlɪŋ/
Letters14
Frequency rank#74,852
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “countervailing” in English

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).countervailingfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “countywide” (#74,853), “coveting” (#74,854), “coronel” (#74,849). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “countervailing” is #74,852. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

countervailing is uncommon English at frequency #74,852 among 5,599 “C” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˌkaʊntəˈveɪlɪŋ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Compensating with equal force.".

No generated misspelling entries exist for countervailing in our index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct English form is countervailing, spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-V-A-I-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Compensating with equal force.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how countervailing appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. countervailing duty
  2. For every attribute that encourages diversity and decentralization on the Web, there is a countervailing push toward homogeneity and concentration.

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "countervailing"?
"countervailing" is spelled C-O-U-N-T-E-R-V-A-I-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌkaʊntəˈveɪlɪŋ/.
What does "countervailing" mean?
As an adjective, "countervailing" means: Compensating with equal force.
How do you pronounce "countervailing"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "countervailing" is /ˌkaʊntəˈveɪlɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "countervailing" come from?
"countervailing" is a English word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "countervailing", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 14 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list