neutral

The definition of neutral is not taking part in a fight or war or having very little color.

(adjective)

An example of neutral is a person who does not take sides in an argument between two friends.
An example of neutral is the color tan.

See neutral in Webster's New World College Dictionary

adjective

1. not taking part in either side of a dispute or quarrel
2. not taking part in a war; giving no active aid to any belligerent
of, belonging to, or characteristic of a nation not taking part in a war or not aligning itself with either side in a power struggle
belonging to neither extreme in type, kind, etc.; without strongly marked characteristics; indefinite, indifferent, middling, etc.
having little or no decided color; not vivid: beige is a neutral color
Biol. neuter
Chem. giving neither acid nor alkaline reaction
Elec. neither negative nor positive; uncharged
Phonet. articulated with the tongue relaxed and in the mid-central position, as the vowel in most unstressed syllables, the (ə)

Origin: Fr < ML neutralis < L, of neuter gender < neuter: see neuter

noun

a nation not taking part in a war or conflict; neutral power
a neutral person or a citizen of a neutral country
a neutral color
Mech. a disengaged position of gears, in which they do not transmit power from the engine to the operating parts

Related Forms:

See neutral in American Heritage Dictionary 4

adjective

Not aligned with, supporting, or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or contest.
Belonging to neither side in a controversy: on neutral ground.
Belonging to neither kind; not one thing or the other.
Sexless; neuter.
Chemistry
a. Of or relating to a solution or compound that is neither acidic nor alkaline.
b. Of or relating to a compound that does not ionize in solution.
Physics
a. Of or relating to a particle, an object, or a system that has neither positive nor negative electric charge.
b. Of or relating to a particle, object, or system that has a net electric charge of zero.
Of or indicating a color, such as gray, black, or white, that lacks hue; achromatic.
Linguistics Pronounced with the tongue in a middle position, neither high nor low, as the a in around.

noun

a. A nation nonaligned with either side in a war.
b. A citizen of such a nation.
One who takes no side in a controversy: “I am by disposition one of life's neutrals, a human Switzerland” (John Gregory Dunne).
A neutral hue.
A position in which a set of gears is disengaged so that power cannot be transmitted.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English neuteral

Origin: , from Old French neutral

Origin: , from Latin neutrālis, grammatically neuter

Origin: , from neuter, neutr-; see neuter

Related Forms:

noun pl. Neutral or Neu·trals

A confederacy of Iroquoian-speaking Native American peoples formerly inhabiting the northern shore of Lake Erie. The Neutral were destroyed by the Iroquois in the mid-17th century.
A member of this people.

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