NEUTRAL • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • 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."

See images of 'Neutral'

Etymology of 'Neutral'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Neutral" Quotes from Famous Books

... Seeming to feel this blow, with flaming top Stoops to his base; and with a hideous crash Takes prisoner Pyrrhus' ear: for lo! his sword, Which was declining on the milky head Of reverend Priam, seem'd i' the air to stick: So, as a painted tyrant, Pyrrhus stood; And, like a neutral to his will and matter, Did nothing. But as we often see, against some storm, A silence in the heavens, the rack stand still, The bold winds speechless, and the orb below As hush as death, anon the dreadful thunder Doth rend the region; ...

— Hamlet, Prince of Denmark • William Shakespeare [Collins edition]

... the Intombi Camp was formed, and all the wounded and most of the women and children, with a few of the able-bodied male civilian inhabitants of Ladysmith, were moved into the neutral camp. ...

— The Record of a Regiment of the Line • M. Jacson

... them to the English frontier. I could make little of his geography, but I infer that they went in the direction of Boston,—though not so far. There the Algonquins fell upon a village, where they scalped and burned to their fill. He says that the Hurons remained neutral, and this prisoner, he maintains, is theirs by purchase. They bought him from the Algonquins for two white dressed deerskins, and they have treated him well. They have found him a man of spirit and ...

— Montlivet • Alice Prescott Smith

... importance. Here Captain Gore heard that war had broken out between England and France; but soon afterwards, being informed that the commanders of the French ships had been directed to treat the expedition under Captain Cook as belonging to a neutral power, he put to sea, resolved to preserve the strictest neutrality during the remainder ...

— Notable Voyagers - From Columbus to Nordenskiold • W.H.G. Kingston and Henry Frith

... ready for the trial. It was expected that certain great military officers would arrive that night, commanders of a victorious host making its way across Northern Germany, with no great respect for the rights of neutral territory, often dealing with life and property too rudely to find the coveted treasure. It was but one episode in a cruel war. Duke Carl did not wait for the grandly illuminated supper prepared for their reception. Events precipitated themselves. Those officers ...

— Imaginary Portraits • Walter Pater

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