Effort expended in opposition to or to counteract another effort.
From 'counter-' + 'effort' (from Old French 'esforcer', meaning to strengthen). The word emphasizes that efforts can be directly opposing forces, like tug-of-war.
In physics and everyday life, counterefforts are everywhere—when someone pushes a door while another pulls it, they're creating counterefforts. Energy spent on opposition is energy not spent on progress.
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