Neutral \Neu"tral\, a. [L. neutralis, fr. neuter. See Neuter.]
1. Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or
assisting either of two or more contending parties;
neuter; indifferent.
[1913 Webster]
The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but
constantly takes part one way or the other.
--Shaftesbury.
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2. Neither good nor bad; of medium quality; middling; not
decided or pronounced.
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Some things good, and some things ill, do seem,
And neutral some, in her fantastic eye. --Sir J.
Davies.
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3. (Biol.) Neuter. See Neuter, a., 3.
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4. (Chem.) Having neither acid nor basic properties; unable
to turn red litmus blue or blue litmus red; -- said of
certain salts or other compounds. Contrasted with acid,
and alkaline.
[1913 Webster]
Neutral axis, Neutral surface (Mech.), that line or
plane, in a beam under transverse pressure, at which the
fibers are neither stretched nor compressed, or where the
longitudinal stress is zero. See Axis.
Neutral equilibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a
body so placed that when moved slighty it neither tends to
return to its former position not depart more widely from
it, as a perfect sphere or cylinder on a horizontal plane.
Neutral salt (Chem.), a salt formed by the complete
replacement of the hydrogen in an acid or base; in the
former case by a positive or basic, in the latter by a
negative or acid, element or radical.
Neutral tint, a bluish gray pigment, used in water colors,
made by mixing indigo or other blue some warm color. the
shades vary greatly.
Neutral vowel, the vowel element having an obscure and
indefinite quality, such as is commonly taken by the vowel
in many unaccented syllables. It is regarded by some as
identical with the [u^] in up, and is called also the
natural vowel, as unformed by art and effort; it is also
called the indefinite vowel. It is symbolized in some
phonetic alphabets by the schwa ([schwa]). See Guide to
Pronunciation, [sect] 17.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Neutral \Neu"tral\, n.
A person or a nation that takes no part in a contest between
others; one who is neutral.
[1913 Webster]
The neutral, as far as commerce extends, becomes a
party in the war. --R. G.
Harper.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Colorless \Col"or*less\, a.
1. Without color; not distinguished by any hue; transparent;
as, colorless water; a colorless gas.
Note: [Narrower terms: ashen, bloodless, livid, lurid, pale,
pallid, pasty, wan, waxen; neutral; white] [Also
See: achromatic, colorless.]
[1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
2. Free from any manifestation of partial or peculiar
sentiment or feeling; not disclosing likes, dislikes,
prejudice, etc.; as, colorless music; a colorless style;
definitions should be colorless.
[1913 Webster]
3. having lost its normal color.
Note: [Narrower terms: blanched, etiolate, etiolated,
whitened; bleached, faded, washed-out, washy;
dimmed, dulled, grayed; dirty; dull, sober,
somber, subfusc] colored
Syn: colorless, uncolored, uncoloured.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
neutral
adj 1: neither moral nor immoral; neither good nor evil, right nor
wrong
2: having no personal preference; "impersonal criticism"; "a
neutral observer" [syn: impersonal]
3: having only a limited ability to react chemically; not
active; "inert matter"; "an indifferent chemical in a
reaction" [syn: inert, indifferent]
4: not supporting or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or
contest
5: having no net electric charge; not electrified [syn: electroneutral]
[ant: positive, negative]
6: lacking hue; "neutral colors like back or white"
7: of no distinctive quality or characteristics or type [ant: positive,
negative]
8: lacking distinguishing quality or characteristics; "a
neutral personality that made no impression whatever"
n : one who does not side with any party in a war or dispute
WordNet (r) 2.0
248 Moby Thesaurus words for "neutral":
Hydromatic, Laodicean, Olympian, abstract, achromatic, achromic,
aloof, anemic, anythingarian, apathetic, asexual, ashen, ashy,
autarchic, autarkic, automatic transmission, autonomous, beige,
bland, bled white, bloodless, broad, cadaverous, candid, castrated,
centrist, changeable, chloranemic, cogwheel, cold, collective,
colorless, compromiser, conservative, contemplative, cool, dead,
deadly pale, deathly pale, detached, differential,
differential gear, dim, dimmed, dingy, discolored, disinterested,
dispassionate, do-nothing, dormant, drab, dull, ecru, emasculated,
equitable, etiolated, eunuchized, even, evenhanded, exsanguinated,
exsanguine, exsanguineous, faded, faint, fair, fallow, featureless,
fence-sitter, fervorless, fifty-fifty, flat, free lance,
free spirit, free trader, free-spirited, freethinker, freewheel,
freewheeling, frigid, frustrated, gear, gear train, gearbox,
gearing, gearshift, gearwheel, general, generalized, generic,
ghastly, gray, haggard, half-and-half, halfhearted, high, hueless,
hypochromic, idle, immobile, impartial, impersonal, impotent,
inactive, indecisive, indefinite, independent, indeterminate,
indifferent, indistinct, indistinguishable, individualist,
individualistic, inert, infirm of purpose, infirm of will,
inner-directed, insipid, intermediate, irresolute, isolationist,
just, lackluster, laissez-aller, laissez-faire, latitudinarian,
leaden, liberal, libertarian, libertine, livid, lofty, low,
lukewarm, lurid, lusterless, mat, mealy, meditative,
middle-of-the-roader, midway, milk-and-water, milky, moderate,
moderationist, moderatist, motionless, muddy, mugwump, mugwumpian,
mugwumpish, mushy, nebulous, neuter, nonaligned, noncommittal,
noncommitted, nonpartisan, nonspecific, nothingarian, objective,
on the fence, overdrive, pale, pale as death, pale-faced, pallid,
paralytic, paralyzed, passive, pasty, perfunctory, procrastinating,
quiescent, quietist, quietistic, rack, remote, removed, reverse,
rugged individualist, sallow, self-contained, self-dependent,
self-determined, self-directing, self-governed, self-governing,
self-reliant, self-subsistent, self-sufficient, self-supporting,
selfless, sexless, sickly, sovereign, stagnant, stagnating,
standard transmission, standpat, static, stationary, stick shift,
swing vote, synchromesh, tallow-faced, tasteless, tepid,
third force, third world, third-force, third-world, toneless,
transmission, unaffiliated, unallied, unbiased, uncharacterized,
uncolored, uncommitted, uncommitted voter, undazzled,
undifferentiated, uninfluenced, uninvolved, unjaundiced,
unprejudiced, unprepossessed, unselfish, unsexed, unsexual,
unspecified, unswayed, vague, vapid, vegetable, vegetative, wan,
washed out, washed-out, watery, waxen, weak, whey-faced, white,
wide, wishy-washy, withdrawn, zealless
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
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