neutral - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Middle French neutral (compare modern French neutre), from Latin neutrālis. By surface analysis, neuter +‎ -al.

neutral (comparative more neutral, superlative most neutral)

  1. (politics) Not taking sides in a conflict such as war; nonaligned.
  2. Favoring neither the supporting nor opposing viewpoint of a topic of debate; unbiased.
    Synonyms: disinterested, indifferent; see also Thesaurus:impartial
    I am neutral regarding the issue of gay marriage.
  3. Neither positive nor negative.
  4. (psychology) Not biased; viewing situations objectively in a way that is neither positive nor negative.
    a neutral person
  5. Neither beneficial nor harmful.
    Synonym: innocuous
    • c. 1600, Sir John Davies, The Original, Nature, and Immortality of the Soul:
      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.
  6. (biology) Having no sex; neuter.
    Synonym: sexless
  7. Having no obvious colour; gray.
    Synonym: beige
  8. (physics) Neither positive nor negative; possessing no charge or equivalent positive and negative charge such that there is no imbalance.
    Synonyms: uncharged, chargeless
  9. (chemistry) Having a pH of or near 7, neither acidic nor alkaline.
  10. (liquor, chemistry) Of an alcoholic drink, having been fermented and distilled but with no additives.
  11. (roleplaying games) Having an alignment that is situated between two notable possibilities, such as between good and evil, or between chaotic and lawful.
    Hyponyms: neutral good, true neutral, neutral evil
    Coordinate terms: chaotic, lawful

not taking sides in a conflict

neither beneficial nor harmful

biology: having no sex

having no obvious colour

physics: possessing no charge

chemistry: neither acidic nor alkaline

(role-playing games) aligned between two notable possibilities

neutral (countable and uncountable, plural neutrals)

  1. A nonaligned state, or a member of such a state.
  2. A person who takes no side in a dispute.
    • 1931, “Which Side Are You On?”, performed by Florence Patton Reece:
      They say in Harlan County
      There are no neutrals there
      You'll either be a union man
      Or a thug for J.H. Blair.
  3. An individual or entity serving as an arbitrator or adjudicator.
  4. A neutral hue.
  5. (uncountable) The position of a set of gears in which power cannot be transmitted to the drive mechanism.
    Near-synonym: angel gear (humorous)
    Put it in neutral, and we'll push it out of the garage.
    • 1961, Robert S. Close, With Hooves of Brass, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 124:
      He shoved the tractor into neutral, and, leaving the engine running, jumped down[.]
  6. An electrical terminal or conductor which has zero or close to zero voltage with respect to the ground.
    Coordinate terms: hot, ground, earth

nonaligned state

person who takes no side in a dispute

neutral hue

position of gears

Borrowed from Latin neutrālis.

neutral m or f (masculine and feminine plural neutrals)

  1. neutral

From Latin neutrālis.

neutral (neuter neutralt, plural and definite singular attributive neutrale)

  1. neutral
    Synonyms: upartisk, uvildig
  2. uncontroversial
    Synonym: ukontroversiel
  3. Neither positive nor negative
    1. (chemistry) neither acidic nor alkaline
    2. (physics) uncharged, chargeless

Inflection of neutral

| | positive | comparative | superlative | | | -------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | indefinite common singular | neutral | mere neutral | mest neutral2 | | indefinite neuter singular | neutralt | mere neutral | mest neutral2 | | plural | neutrale | mere neutral | mest neutral2 | | definite attributive1 | neutrale | mere neutral | mest 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.

16th century, borrowed from Latin neutralis, at first in political parlance.

neutral (strong nominative masculine singular neutraler, comparative neutraler, superlative am neutralsten)

  1. neutral
    1. (politics) not taking sides, not joining alliances
      Synonyms: unbeteiligt, unparteiisch, bündnisfrei
    2. impartial, unbiased
      Synonyms: unparteiisch, unvoreingenommen, unbefangen, wertfrei
    3. having no pronounced quality, neither good nor bad etc.
      Synonym: indifferent
    4. (physics) electrically uncharged
      Synonym: ungeladen
    5. (chemistry) neither acidic nor alkaline
  2. neuter
    1. (grammar) of neuter gender
      Synonym: sächlich
    2. (biology, rare) sexless
      Synonym: geschlechtlos

Positive forms of neutral

Comparative forms of neutral

Superlative forms of neutral

Borrowed from Latin neutralis or Italian neutrale. By surface analysis, neutru +‎ -al.

neutral m or n (feminine singular neutrală, masculine plural neutrali, feminine/neuter plural neutrale)

  1. neutral

From Latin neutrālis.

neutral m or f (masculine and feminine plural neutrales)

  1. (politics) neutral

neutral

  1. neutral
  2. (grammar) intransitive[1]
  1. ^ Transitiv in Nordisk familjebok (2nd ed., 1919)