How to Use counterpoint in a Sentence
- The music works in counterpoint to the images on the screen.
- The guitar and bass are played in counterpoint.
- The dressing is a refreshing counterpoint to the spicy chicken.
- The painting is a pleasant counterpoint to his earlier works.
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Got a counterpoint about why these are a great idea?
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Andrew P. Collins,
The Drive,
14 May 2026
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Try a dollop of sour cream or crème fraiche on top for a cool, silky counterpoint.
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Southern Living Test Kitchen,
Southern Living,
1 Dec. 2023
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This room's light wood walls act as the perfect counterpoint to the dark bunk bed frame.
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Mariah Thomas,
Good Housekeeping,
1 May 2022
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The Surya jute rug offers a counterpoint to the turquoise all around.
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Ryan Conner,
Dallas News,
27 Apr. 2023
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All of it comes pretty close to being a counterpoint to the bad things that have happened.
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Rachel Choy,
Refinery29,
19 Dec. 2025
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The bright crunchy salads are a perfect counterpoint.
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Jessica Chapel,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
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But while many have proven to be worthwhile, a true counterpoint to college-for-all never gets to scale.
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Rick Wartzman,
Fortune,
14 Dec. 2023
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The rats, who had drowned in a rainstorm, lay in artful counterpoint, as though posing for a still-life.
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Morgan Meis,
The New Yorker,
28 Feb. 2023
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The tang of the lemon plays a soaring counterpoint to what many people (not me) think of as the gaminess of lamb.
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Tribune News Service,
cleveland,
9 May 2022
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The light tang makes a delicious counterpoint to extra-sweet desserts.
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Molly Allen,
Southern Living,
19 Feb. 2026
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For a fresh counterpoint to fall’s deep, moody tones, look to this bestselling Madewell bucket tote.
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Lauren Alexis Fisher,
Footwear News,
3 Sep. 2025
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The goal was to offer a counterpoint to rich, heavy, holiday-season food.
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Ellie Pithers,
New York Times,
15 Feb. 2024
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Greek yogurt makes tahini creamier and a good counterpoint for the pepper sauce.
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Faye Levy,
Oc Register,
11 Feb. 2026
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The counterpoint, of course, is that readers deserve better and always have.
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Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
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The chocolate cream cheese frosting adds a creamy, sweet, and slightly tangy counterpoint, with a smooth finish.
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Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
28 Dec. 2025
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The primary colors here are white and gray, which offer a pleasing counterpoint to the red oak floor.
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John R. Ellement,
BostonGlobe.com,
5 July 2023
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The choice of lead-in music is a nice counterpoint to the high-volume proceedings that follow.
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Matthias Clamer,
SPIN,
7 Aug. 2022
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Take the snug, where a wall unit painted in a high-gloss chocolate brown serves as a sleek counterpoint to the deep-dish velvet sofa.
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Laura Regensdorf,
Architectural Digest,
25 Mar. 2026
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Long eyelashes lent his eyes a feminine sparkle, a counterpoint to his manly chin.
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William Keiser,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Dec. 2023
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As a counterpoint, the female characters play a larger role.
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Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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The signers pushed back on Jassy’s claims presenting six counterpoints.
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Chloe Berger,
Fortune,
28 Feb. 2023
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The beauty and breadth of the landscape stand in counterpoint to the horrors of the human lives playing out upon it.
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Literary Hub,
5 Mar. 2026
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For many years, Larijani was seen as the bookish front man for the regime, a counterpoint to his more fiery colleagues.
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Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
17 Mar. 2026
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But the rest of the year was explicitly designed to be a counterpoint to that for the Hewson clan.
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Alex Morris,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2023
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As a counterpoint to their white gold siblings, the trio of black titanium and rose gold pieces lean into contrast.
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Demetrius Simms,
Robb Report,
4 Oct. 2022
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This slaw is not meant to be a creamy, cooling counterpoint to the ‘cue, but instead doubles down on the signature flavors.
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Sheri Castle,
Southern Living,
28 Aug. 2025
- The violence of the movie is counterpointed by ironic humor.
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Her voice runs free to lead and counterpoint, to embroider around the notes and words, to demonstrate her power, her control, her mastery.
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Tom Teicholz,
Forbes,
16 May 2021
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But the high adventure is counterpointed at every turn by self-conscious humor.
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Steve Stern,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2017
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Carpaccio di tonno — thin slices of ahi counterpointed by capers, olive oil and peppery arugula — was clean, simple and very good.
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Kate Washington,
sacbee,
8 June 2018
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Carolyn Holland, Ecotrust's vice president for communications, would not say what counterpoints the group has about the state's plan to claw back part of the tax credit.
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Hillary Borrud,
OregonLive.com,
11 May 2018
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The Alagoas setting and also the director’s home state remains a guiding visual anchor, and counterpoint to the family’s interior life.
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Callum McLennan,
Variety,
19 May 2026
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Traffic on the adjacent road, jets rumbling overhead, clicking spokes of passing bicycles, the frictive thrum of a skateboard, the crunch of your own footsteps — all shift from background noise to counterpoint for the tones emanating from above.
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Leah Ollman,
latimes.com,
23 Aug. 2017
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Arendt’s sheer delight in intellectual speculation counterpoints her intense ethical commitment to thinking as a form of political engagement.
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George Prochnik,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2018
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The smartest touch is counterpointing the pair’s bickering with the idealized representation of American life presented by a scatting jazz trio, who comment on the action like a Greek chorus of ’50s hepcats.
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John Von Rhein,
chicagotribune.com,
11 Mar. 2018
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The token slivers of human-interest drama (a divorce battle, a visit to the pediatrician) that are meant to counterpoint the possibility of Armageddon with the oh-so-ironic triviality of quotidian concerns.
—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'counterpoint.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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