Neutral

5 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Neither good nor bad; of medium quality; middling; not
        decided or pronounced.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Some things good, and some things ill, do seem,
              And neutral some, in her fantastic eye. --Sir J.
                                                    Davies.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. (Biol.) Neuter. See {Neuter}, a., 3.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     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.
        [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  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]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  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

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  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