neutral

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

(adjective)

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

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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
  1. 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
  2. belonging to neither extreme in type, kind, etc.; without strongly marked characteristics; indefinite, indifferent, middling, etc.
  3. having little or no decided color; not vivid: beige is a neutral color
  4. Biol. neuter
  5. Chem. giving neither acid nor alkaline reaction
  6. Elec. neither negative nor positive; uncharged
  7. 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

  1. a nation not taking part in a war or conflict; neutral power
  2. a neutral person or a citizen of a neutral country
  3. a neutral color
  4. 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
  1. Not aligned with, supporting, or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or contest.
  2. Belonging to neither side in a controversy: on neutral ground.
  3. Belonging to neither kind; not one thing or the other.
  4. Sexless; neuter.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. Of or indicating a color, such as gray, black, or white, that lacks hue; achromatic.
  8. Linguistics Pronounced with the tongue in a middle position, neither high nor low, as the a in around.
noun
  1. a. A nation nonaligned with either side in a war.
    b. A citizen of such a nation.
  2. One who takes no side in a controversy: “I am by disposition one of life's neutrals, a human Switzerland” (John Gregory Dunne).
  3. A neutral hue.
  4. 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

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Related Forms:

  • neuˈtral·ly adverb

noun pl. Neutral or Neu·trals
  1. 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.
  2. A member of this people.

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