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Webster 1913 Edition

Neutral

Neu′tral

,
Adj.
[L.
neutralis
, fr.
neuter
. See
Neuter
.]
1.
Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent.
The heart can not possibly remain
neutral
, but constantly takes part one way or the other.
Shaftesbury.
2.
Neither good nor bad; of medium quality; middling; not decided or pronounced.
Some things good, and some things ill, do seem,
And
neutral
some, in her fantastic eye.
Sir J. Davies.
3.
(Biol.)
Neuter. See
Neuter
,
Adj.
, 3.
4.
(Chem.)
Having neither acid nor basic properties; unable to turn red litmus blue or blue litmus red; – said of certain salts or other compounds. Contrasted with
acid
, and
alkaline
.
Neutral axis
,
Neutral surface
(Mech.)
,
that line or plane, in a beam under transverse pressure, at which the fibers are neither stretched nor compressed, or where the longitudinal stress is zero. See
Axis
.
–
Neutral equilibrium
(Mech.)
,
the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that when moved slighty it neither tends to return to its former position not depart more widely from it, as a perfect sphere or cylinder on a horizontal plane.
–
Neutral salt
(Chem.)
,
a salt formed by the complete replacement of the hydrogen in an acid or base; in the former case by a positive or basic, in the latter by a negative or acid, element or radical.
–
Neutral tint
,
a bluish gray pigment, used in water colors, made by mixing indigo or other blue some warm color. the shades vary greatly.
–
Neutral vowel
,
the vowel element having an obscure and indefinite quality, such as is commonly taken by the vowel in many unaccented syllables. It is regarded by some as identical with the ŭ in up, and is called also the
natural vowel
, as unformed by art and effort; it is also called the
indefinite vowel
. It is symbolized in some phonetic alphabets by the
schwa
(ə). See Guide to Pronunciation, § 17.

Neu′tral

,
Noun.
A person or a nation that takes no part in a contest between others; one who is neutral.
The
neutral
, as far as commerce extends, becomes a party in the war.
R. G. Harper.

Webster 1828 Edition

Neutral

NEUTRAL

,
Adj.
[L. From neuter.]
1.
Not engaged on either side; not taking an active part with either of contending parties. It is policy for a nation to be neutral when other nations are at war. Belligerents often obtain supplies from neutral states.
2.
Indifferent; having no bias in favor of either side or party.
3.
Indifferent; neither very good nor bad.
Some things good, and some things ill do seem, And neutral some in her fantastic eye.
Neutral salt, in chimistry, a salt or body composed of two primitive saline substances in combination, and possessing the character neither of an acid or alkaline salt; or a combination of an acid with any substance which destroys its acidity; any salt saturated with an alkali, an earth or a metal. But it is more usual to denominate neutral, a salt which is united with an alkaline substance, and to cal the others earthy or metallic.

NEUTRAL

,
Noun.
A person or nation that takes no part in a contest between others.
The neutral, as far as his commerce extends, becomes a party in the war.

Definition 2024

neutral

neutral

See also: neutrál

English

Adjective

neutral ‎(comparative more neutral, superlative most neutral)

  1. Not taking sides in a conflict such as war; nonaligned.
  2. Favouring neither the supporting nor opposing viewpoint of a topic of debate; unbiased.
    I am neutral regarding the issue of gay marriage.‎
    • Shaftesbury
      The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but constantly takes part one way or the other.
  3. (grammar) Neither positive nor negative.
  4. Neither beneficial nor harmful.
    • Sir J. Davies
      Some things good, and some things ill, do seem, / And neutral some, in her fantastic eye.
    • 2013 May-June, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, “Wild Plants to the Rescue”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 3:
      Plant breeding is always a numbers game. […] The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, […]. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long after they are ripe.
  5. (biology) Having no sex; neuter.
  6. Having no obvious colour; gray
  7. (physics) Neither positive nor negative; possessing no charge or equivalent positive and negative charge such that there is no imbalance.
  8. (chemistry) Having a pH near 7, neither acidic nor alkaline.

Synonyms

  • (neither beneficial nor harmful): innocuous

Translations

Noun

neutral ‎(plural neutrals)

  1. A nonaligned state, or a member of such a state.
  2. A person who takes no side in a dispute.
  3. An individual or entity serving as an arbitrator or adjudicator (jargon / legal).
  4. A neutral hue.
  5. The position of a set of gears in which power cannot be transmitted to the drive mechanism.
  6. An electrical terminal or conductor which has zero or close to zero voltage with respect to the ground.

Translations

Anagrams

Catalan

Adjective

neutral m, f ‎(masculine and feminine plural neutrals)

  1. neutral

Danish

Adjective

neutral

  1. neutral

Inflection

Inflection of neutral
Positive Comparative Superlative
Common singular neutral — —2
Neuter singular neutralt — —2
Plural neutrale — —2
Definite attributive1 neutrale — —
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

German

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -aːl

Adjective

neutral ‎(comparative neutraler, superlative am neutralsten)

  1. neutral

Declension

Comparative forms of neutral
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist neutraler sie ist neutraler es ist neutraler sie sind neutraler
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative neutralerer neutralere neutraleres neutralere
genitive neutraleren neutralerer neutraleren neutralerer
dative neutralerem neutralerer neutralerem neutraleren
accusative neutraleren neutralere neutraleres neutralere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative der neutralere die neutralere das neutralere die neutraleren
genitive des neutraleren der neutraleren des neutraleren der neutraleren
dative dem neutraleren der neutraleren dem neutraleren den neutraleren
accusative den neutraleren die neutralere das neutralere die neutraleren
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative ein neutralerer eine neutralere ein neutraleres (keine) neutraleren
genitive eines neutraleren einer neutraleren eines neutraleren (keiner) neutraleren
dative einem neutraleren einer neutraleren einem neutraleren (keinen) neutraleren
accusative einen neutraleren eine neutralere ein neutraleres (keine) neutraleren

Spanish

Alternative forms

Adjective

neutral m, f ‎(plural neutrales)

  1. neutral

Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /neːɵˈtrɑːl/

Adjective

neutral

  1. neutral
  2. (grammar) intransitive[1]

Declension

Inflection of neutral
Indefinite/attributive Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular neutral neutralare neutralast
Neuter singular neutralt neutralare neutralast
Plural neutrala neutralare neutralast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 neutrale neutralare neutralaste
All neutrala neutralare neutralaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in an attributive role.

Related terms

References

  1. ↑ Transitiv in Nordisk familjebok (2nd ed., 1919)

Etymology

From Middle French neutral (French: neutre), from Latin neutralis.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈnjuːtɹəl/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈnuːtɹəl/

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