Search

Vocabulary Builder — Essay & Answer Writing

Ballast

noun / BAL-uhst / Medium
Meaning

Something that provides stability against external pressure or fluctuation (literally, heavy material used to stabilise a ship)

Origin / Etymology

Middle Low German 'ballast'

Synonyms
Stabiliser Counterweight
Antonyms
Destabiliser
Example Sentence
"India should invest in track-two and people-to-people ties with Bangladesh, trade, education, cultural exchange, that persist across changes of government and provide ballast against purely government-to-government fluctuations."
🎯 UPSC Usage

A useful metaphor in IR essays, e.g., 'Diaspora and civil-society linkages act as ballast for a bilateral relationship when the political register turns volatile.'

Relevant Subjects
International Relations
← All Words
A new UPSC word every morning Word of the Day at 7am, plus daily current affairs and free PDFs
Join Channel
BharatNotes