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neutral

Syllabification: (neu·tral)
Pronunciation: /ˈn(y)o͞otrəl/
Translate neutral | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of neutral

adjective

  • 1not helping or supporting either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; impartial:during the Second World War, Portugal was neutral
  • belonging to an impartial party, country, or group:on neutral ground
  • 2having no strongly marked or positive characteristics or features:the tone was neutral, devoid of sentiment a fairly neutral background will make any small splash of color stand out
  • Chemistry neither acid nor alkaline; having a pH of about 7.
  • electrically neither positive nor negative.

noun

  • 1an impartial or unbiased country or person:he acted as a neutral between the parties Sweden and its fellow neutrals
  • 2a neutral color or shade, especially light gray or beige.
  • 3a disengaged position of gears in which the engine is disconnected from the driven parts:she slipped the gear into neutral
  • 4an electrically neutral point, terminal, conductor, or wire.

Derivatives

neutrally

adverb

Origin:

late Middle English (as a noun): from Latin neutralis 'of neuter gender', from neuter (see neuter)

neutral in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of neutral in the British & World English dictionary
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