counterforcen.
a. A force acting in opposition to another; contrary, opposing, or resisting force.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > a contrary or opposing force
counterforce1609
antagonizer1828
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > [noun] > an opposing force or agent
counter-cast1596
cross-current1598
contre-carre1646
antagonist1647
antipolliges1652
counter-attractiona1763
counterforce1817
antagonism1821
combatant1880
1609 Bp. W. Barlow Answer Catholike English-man 168 By counterforce of both their strengths (the one impelling, the other resisting) the Clouds breake into Thunder.
1817 S. T. Coleridge Blessed are ye that Sow 52 A counterforce is wanting.
1854 T. De Quincey On War in Select. Grave & Gay IV. 265 A counterforce to greater evils.
1872 J. Morley Voltaire iv. 171 There was no counter-force, for the mass of the people was dumb, ignorant, and fettered.
b. attributive; esp. denoting strategy based on retaliation against military forces or bases.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > [adjective] > counter-attack or retaliation
counter-offensive1952
counterforce1955
strike-back1962
1955 Bull. Atomic Scientists Mar. 100/3 Our strategy would be counterforce strategy, not counter city strategy.
1959 Economist 14 Feb. 590/2 The counter-force strategy was based on the assumption that the Russians' own bases could be overwhelmed virtually at a single blow.
1966 U. Schwarz & L. Hadik Strategic Terminol. 40 Counterforce capability is that required to destroy enough of an enemy's nuclear striking capability in order to make his retaliation tolerable.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1893; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
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n.1609