NEUTRAL • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Neutral

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/nˈutrəl/ Listen

adjective

Neutral adj.

1.

Not engaged on either side; not taking part with or assisting either of two or more contending parties; neuter; indifferent. "The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but constantly takes part one way or the other."

2.

Neither good nor bad; of medium quality; middling; not decided or pronounced. "Some things good, and some things ill, do seem, And neutral some, in her fantastic eye."

3.

(Biol.) Neuter. See Neuter, a., 3.

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.

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.

noun

Neutral n. A person or a nation that takes no part in a contest between others; one who is neutral. "The neutral, as far as commerce extends, becomes a party in the war."

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Etymology of 'Neutral'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Neutral" Quotes from Famous Books

... made it necessary to occupy the south side of the Potomac. The western part of the State was not largely interested in slaves or slave labor, and it was known to have many citizens loyal to the Union. These it was important to protect and recognize. The neutral and doubtful attitude Kentucky at first assumed made its occupation a ...

— Slavery and Four Years of War, Vol. 1-2 • Joseph Warren Keifer

... barber armed himself with a razor and served out the others to us; on their side, Tryphaena's retainers prepared to battle with their bare fists, nor was the scolding of female warriors unheard in the battle-line. The pilot was neutral, but he declared that unless this madness, stirred up by the lechery of a couple of vagabonds, died down, he would let go the helm! The fury of the combatants continued to rage none the less fiercely, ...

— The Satyricon, Complete • Petronius Arbiter

... hall in a rural community may be made one of the most effective Americanizing agencies. Public meetings, lectures, amateur theatrical performances, dancing, public celebrations, games, sports, etc., may be held there. It is the neutral place where all community members, natives and immigrants of various races, religions, and tongues, meet one another and learn to know one another, where the much-needed social visiting among the natives and immigrants may ...

— A Stake in the Land • Peter Alexander Speek

... belonging to any of its branches should handle the goods of the obdurate company. This was all very well in its way, until the order touched the railway hands, who are in the employ of the government. The union appealed to the railway commissioners to remain "neutral" and not to carry the goods of the offending firm. The commissioners responded that they were the servants of the public; that it was not part of their business to recognise the quarrel, but that it was their business to carry for any and every citizen who did not infringe their rules. ...

— Recollections • David Christie Murray

... pyloric glands. This fluid is distinctly acid, its acidity being due to about one-tenth per cent {of a hundred} of hydrochloric acid, and it therefore stops any further action of the ptyalin, which can act only on neutral or slightly alkaline fluids. The gastric juice does not act on carbo-hydrates or hydrocarbons to any very noticeable degree. Its essential property is the conversion of proteids into peptones, and the ...

— Text Book of Biology, Part 1: Vertebrata • H. G. Wells

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