neu·tral
(nōṓtrəl, nyōṓ-)
[Middle English neuteral, from Old French neutral, from Latin neutrālis, grammatically neuter, from neuter, neutr-; see neuter.]
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
- Of or relating to a solution or compound that is neither acidic nor alkaline.
- Of or relating to a compound that does not ionize in solution.
- Physics
- Of or relating to a particle, an object, or a system that has neither positive nor negative electric charge.
- 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 nation nonaligned with either side in a war.
- 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.
derivatives
- neútral·ly
- adverb
Neu·tral
(nōṓtrəl, nyōṓ-)
noun: pl., Neutral or -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.
