countervail kown ter vayl v compensate for or counterbalance v oppose and mitigate the effects of by contrary actions Usage(s) All this and the fact that terrifying events countervail physical beauty. It has not escaped the Russians that he has managed to countervail the loss of many a reformer by sacking a pro-Moscow counterpart (last week's swap: Hjek for Communications . Synonym(s) offset counteract neutralize counterbalance