neutral

/ˈnutrəl/
/ˈnutrəl/
IPA guide

Other forms: neutrals; neutrally

Commonly used to describe a person who doesn’t pick sides in disputes, neutral also pegs anything that refuses to be bold: the color beige, bland clothing, people with no preferences on where to eat for dinner.

Being neutral sounds kind of boring. But neutrality is really important in some cases: Judges, for example, must remain totally neutral when hearing a case. Manners mavens say that it's best to remain neutral when topics like politics and religion come up during a party. And boxers can look to the neutral corners in the ring to escape a punch.

Definitions of neutral
  1. adjective
    having no personal preference
    “a neutral observer”
    synonyms: impersonal
    nonsubjective, objective
    undistorted by emotion or personal bias; based on observable phenomena
  2. adjective
    not supporting or favoring either side in a war, dispute, or contest
    synonyms:
    nonaligned
    not affiliated with any faction, party, or cause
  3. adjective
    possessing no distinctive quality or characteristics
    synonyms:
    neutralised, neutralized
    made neutral in some respect; deprived of distinctive characteristics
    viewless
    not having or expressing opinions or views
    see moresee less
    antonyms:
    positive
    characterized by or displaying affirmation or acceptance or certainty etc.
    negative
    characterized by or displaying negation or denial or opposition or resistance; having no positive features
    affirmative, affirmatory
    affirming or giving assent
    constructive
    constructing or tending to construct or improve or promote development
    destructive
    causing destruction or much damage
    optimistic
    expecting the best in this best of all possible worlds
    pessimistic
    expecting the worst possible outcome
    affirmative, optimistic
    expecting the best
    constructive
    emphasizing what is laudable or hopeful or to the good
    antagonistic, counter
    indicating opposition or resistance
    perverse
    marked by a disposition to oppose and contradict
    supportive
    furnishing support or assistance
    unsupportive
    not furnishing support or assistance
    show more antonyms...
  4. adjective
    lacking distinguishing quality or characteristics
    “a neutral personality that made no impression whatever”
    synonyms:
    colorless, colourless
    lacking in variety and interest
  5. adjective
    having no hue
    “neutral colors like black or white”
    synonyms: achromatic
    argent, silver, silverish, silvery
    of lustrous grey; covered with or tinged with the color of silver
    ash-gray, ash-grey, ashy
    of a light grey
    blackish
    of something that is somewhat black
    black-gray, black-grey, blackish-gray, blackish-grey
    of dark grey
    blue-white, bluish-white, cool-white
    of white tinged with blue
    blue-gray, blue-grey, bluish-gray, bluish-grey
    of grey tinged with blue
    blue-black, bluish black
    of black tinged with blue
    brown-black, brownish-black
    of black tinged with brown
    brown-gray, brown-grey, brownish-gray, brownish-grey
    of grey tinged with brown
    canescent
    of greyish white
    chalky
    of something having the color of chalk
    charcoal, charcoal-gray, charcoal-grey
    of a very dark grey
    coal-black, jet, jet-black, pitchy, sooty
    black or blackish; similar in color to dust from burnt wood or coal
    cottony-white
    of something as white as cotton
    dull-white
    of a dull shade of white
    ebon, ebony
    of a very dark black
    gray, grayish, grey, greyish
    of an achromatic color of any lightness intermediate between the extremes of white and black
    gray-black, grayish-black, grey-black, greyish-black
    of black tinged with grey
    gray-white, grayish-white, grey-white, greyish-white
    of white tinged with grey
    greenish-gray, greenish-grey
    of grey tinged with green
    green-white, greenish-white
    of white flowers tinged with green
    hueless
    of something totally lacking in saturation and therefore having no hue
    ink-black, inky, inky-black
    of the color of black ink
    iron-gray, iron-grey
    of the grey color of iron
    lily-white
    of a pure white color
    milk-white
    of a white the color of fresh milk
    olive-gray, olive-grey
    of grey tinged with olive
    dark-gray, dark-grey, oxford-gray, oxford-grey
    of a dark shade of grey
    pearl gray, pearl grey
    of a grey with a pearly tinge
    pearly, pearly-white
    of a white the color of pearls
    pinkish-white
    of white tinged with pink
    purple-black, purplish-black
    of black tinged with purple
    purple-white, purplish-white
    of white tinged with purple
    red-gray, red-grey, reddish-gray, reddish-grey
    of grey tinged with red
    sable
    of a dark somewhat brownish black
    silver-gray, silver-grey, silvery-gray, silvery-grey
    of grey resembling silver
    silver-white, silvery-white
    of a white that resembles silver
    slate-black
    of a black tinged with slate-grey
    slate-gray, slate-grey, slatey, slaty, slaty-gray, slaty-grey, stone-gray, stone-grey
    of the color of slate or granite
    niveous, snow-white, snowy
    of the white color of snow
    soot-black, sooty-black
    of the black color of soot
    violet-black
    of black tinged with violet
    white-flowered
    (of plants) having white flowers
    off-white, whitish
    of something having a color tending toward white
    yellow-gray, yellow-grey, yellowish-gray, yellowish-grey
    of grey tinged with yellow
    yellow-white, yellowish-white
    of a white tinged with yellow
    colorless, colourless
    weak in color; not colorful
  6. adjective
    having no net electric charge
    synonyms: electroneutral
    uncharged
    of a particle or body or system; having no charge
  7. adjective
    having only a limited ability to react chemically; chemically inactive
    synonyms: indifferent, inert
    unreactive
    (chemistry) not reacting chemically
  8. noun
    one who does not side with any party in a war or dispute
    see moresee less
    types:
    fence-sitter
    a person who won't take sides in a controversy
    stakeholder
    someone entrusted to hold the stakes for two or more persons betting against one another; must deliver the stakes to the winner
    type of:
    individual, mortal, person, somebody, someone, soul
    a human being
  9. noun
    a disengaged position, as of gears
    see moresee less
    type of:
    gear, gear mechanism
    a mechanism for transmitting motion for some specific purpose (as the steering gear of a vehicle)
Pronunciation
US
/ˈnutrəl/
UK
/ˈnutrəl/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘neutral'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
Word Family

Vocabulary lists containing neutral

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The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 1

On the SAT, all of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literature, science, the social sciences, or a U.S. founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of view, words like the 25 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.

The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone

On the New SAT, all of the Reading Test questions are multiple choice and are based on reading passages that may be taken from literature, science, the social sciences, or a US founding document (or a text inspired by such a document). Many of the reading comprehension questions meant to assess a student’s understanding of those passages will require students to choose words that best describe the writer’s tone or point of view, words like the 200 words you see on this list. Learn them here so when you see them in an SAT answer choice, you’ll know what they mean! Here are all of our word lists to help you prepare for the new SAT (debuting March of 2016): The Language of the Test, Multiple-Meaning Words, and Words to Capture Tone.

view more about the vocabulary list
The SAT: Multiple-Meaning Words, List 6

Context is king — that’s the lesson you need to internalize as you begin preparing for the vocabulary questions on the SAT. We have identified this pool of 200 words that cut across the disciplines and lend themselves well to context-dependent interpretation. As you learn this list on Vocabulary.com, you will have to rely on context clues in order to determine each word’s meaning in particular sentences. This is the same type of thinking you will need to develop in order to succeed on the SAT! Following our Roadmap to the SAT? Head back to see what else you should be learning this week.

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