Outbalances

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To have greater weight or significance than another factor, leading to a shift in importance or influence between them
2. To provide a stronger case or rationale, thereby outweighing opposing arguments or elements
3. Has more weight or influence than something else, tipping the balance in its favor

Etymology: "Outbalances" is the third-person singular form of "outbalance," a verb meaning to exceed something in weight or importance. The verb is built from the prefix "out-" and the noun "balance," so its literal sense is to outweigh something on a set of scales. "Balance" itself traces back through Middle English and Old French to Vulgar Latin "bilancia," formed from Latin "bi-" (two) and "lanx" (a dish or plate), a reference to the two pans of a pair of scales. The prefix does most of the work here. "Out-" in English can mean "beyond" or "surpassing," as in "outrun" or "outlive," and attaching it to "balance" gives the sense of tipping the scales past the other side. The pattern is simple: the word describes one side of a balance outweighing the other, and it has carried that figurative sense of greater weight or importance ever since.

Synonyms: overweighs, exceeds, surpasses, outweighs, eclipses

Antonyms: underbalances, falls short, lacks, is less than, is outweighed