balanced

1. 1
   adjective

   Having its parts combined in the right proportions and evenly weighted on all sides, so it stays steady and is unlikely to tip over.

   Like a set of scales that sits level because each pan holds an equal load.

   A balanced portfolio spreads risk across several types of investment.

   The acrobat's balanced stance let her hold the pose without wobbling.

   Similarstable, steady, even, diversified

   Oppositeunbalanced, unstable, lopsided

   Note

   Proportion here is a matter of degree, so the adjective compares with more and most rather than with endings: a more balanced diet, the most balanced account. Its commonest company is nouns for mixtures, such as a diet, a portfolio or a view. With these it praises how well the parts are mixed rather than physical steadiness.

2. 2
   verb

   Simple past and past participle of balance.

   The accountant balanced the books before the end of the quarter.

   For years he balanced a demanding job with raising three children.

   Note

   One spelling does two jobs: the simple past (she balanced the tray) and, after have or be, the participle of perfects and passives (the books were balanced). Everything the verb can do carries over: weighing on scales, reconciling ideas, holding something on a narrow base, comparing one thing against another, even drawing a sail into a narrower compass. Placed before a noun, as in a balanced budget, it has become the adjective of proportion.

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