Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Neutral
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
And
neutral
some, in her fantastic eye. Sir J. Davies.
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.
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.
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)
- Not taking sides in a conflict such as war; nonaligned.
- 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.
- (grammar) Neither positive nor negative.
- 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.
- Sir J. Davies
- (biology) Having no sex; neuter.
- Having no obvious colour; gray
- (physics) Neither positive nor negative; possessing no charge or equivalent positive and negative charge such that there is no imbalance.
- (chemistry) Having a pH near 7, neither acidic nor alkaline.
Synonyms
- (neither beneficial nor harmful): innocuous
Translations
not taking sides in a conflict
|
|
favouring neither the supporting nor opposing viewpoint of a topic of debate
grammar: neither positive nor negative
neither beneficial nor harmful
biology: having no sex
having no obvious colour
physics: possessing no charge
chemistry: neither acidic nor alkaline
Noun
neutral (plural neutrals)
- A nonaligned state, or a member of such a state.
- A person who takes no side in a dispute.
- An individual or entity serving as an arbitrator or adjudicator (jargon / legal).
- A neutral hue.
- The position of a set of gears in which power cannot be transmitted to the drive mechanism.
- An electrical terminal or conductor which has zero or close to zero voltage with respect to the ground.
Translations
nonaligned state
person who takes no side in a dispute
position of gears
|
|
Anagrams
Danish
Adjective
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)
Declension
Positive forms of neutral
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist neutral | sie ist neutral | es ist neutral | sie sind neutral | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | neutraler | neutrale | neutrales | neutrale |
genitive | neutralen | neutraler | neutralen | neutraler | |
dative | neutralem | neutraler | neutralem | neutralen | |
accusative | neutralen | neutrale | neutrales | neutrale | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der neutrale | die neutrale | das neutrale | die neutralen |
genitive | des neutralen | der neutralen | des neutralen | der neutralen | |
dative | dem neutralen | der neutralen | dem neutralen | den neutralen | |
accusative | den neutralen | die neutrale | das neutrale | die neutralen | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein neutraler | eine neutrale | ein neutrales | (keine) neutralen |
genitive | eines neutralen | einer neutralen | eines neutralen | (keiner) neutralen | |
dative | einem neutralen | einer neutralen | einem neutralen | (keinen) neutralen | |
accusative | einen neutralen | eine neutrale | ein neutrales | (keine) neutralen |
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 |
Superlative forms of neutral
number & gender | singular | plural | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
masculine | feminine | neuter | all genders | ||
predicative | er ist am neutralsten | sie ist am neutralsten | es ist am neutralsten | sie sind am neutralsten | |
strong declension (without article) |
nominative | neutralster | neutralste | neutralstes | neutralste |
genitive | neutralsten | neutralster | neutralsten | neutralster | |
dative | neutralstem | neutralster | neutralstem | neutralsten | |
accusative | neutralsten | neutralste | neutralstes | neutralste | |
weak declension (with definite article) |
nominative | der neutralste | die neutralste | das neutralste | die neutralsten |
genitive | des neutralsten | der neutralsten | des neutralsten | der neutralsten | |
dative | dem neutralsten | der neutralsten | dem neutralsten | den neutralsten | |
accusative | den neutralsten | die neutralste | das neutralste | die neutralsten | |
mixed declension (with indefinite article) |
nominative | ein neutralster | eine neutralste | ein neutralstes | (keine) neutralsten |
genitive | eines neutralsten | einer neutralsten | eines neutralsten | (keiner) neutralsten | |
dative | einem neutralsten | einer neutralsten | einem neutralsten | (keinen) neutralsten | |
accusative | einen neutralsten | eine neutralste | ein neutralstes | (keine) neutralsten |
Swedish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /neːɵˈtrɑːl/
Adjective
neutral
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
- neutralisera
- neutralitet
References
- ↑ Transitiv in Nordisk familjebok (2nd ed., 1919)