outweigh
part of speech
verb (outweigh, outweighs, outweighed, outweighing)
meaning for a pupil
1) If one thing outweighs another, it is more important or bigger in effect: «The good points outweigh the bad». tree →
2) To be heavier than something else. tree →
sense in the lessons
In the Tanakh and Jewish tradition: Ecclesiastes says that a small bit of folly can spoil a lot of wisdom, as dead flies spoil perfume. Interpretation: Tradition takes it as a warning that one small wrong deed can spoil a person's good name. In the primary lessons: In ethics, science and decision-making lessons, people weigh benefits against risks: the benefits of a vaccine outweigh the risks. In maths and science, one object can outweigh another on a balance. Phrases: «the benefits outweigh the risks», «the pros outweigh the cons», «far outweigh».
examples
- Dead flies make the ointment of the perfumer fetid and putrid; so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honour. (Writings ECC.10.1, JPS 1917) tree →
- The fun of the trip outweighs the long drive. tree →
- The benefits of exercise far outweigh the effort. tree →
- A full bag of sand outweighs a bag of feathers. tree →
- The doctor said the good of the medicine outweighs the side effects. tree →
- My worries were outweighed by excitement. tree →
- Does the cost outweigh the benefit? tree →
- The elephant outweighs every other land animal. tree →
- Then the king took some larger scales, and heaped up all his treasures on one side, but the silk on the other outweighed them all. tree →
note
Regular verb, past «outweighed». Spelling: out + weigh (with the silent «gh»). Not the same as «outnumber» (more in number). The thing that wins comes first: «A outweighs B» means A is bigger or more important.
In the corpora
- Dead flies make the ointment of the perfumer fetid and putrid; so doth a little folly outweigh wisdom and honour.
- Sometimes a more important duty outweighs a rule, such as running in the corridor to fetch help for a hurt child.
- A promise cannot bind you to stand by while someone comes to harm; keeping someone safe outweighs a promise.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «outweigh» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.