neutral

neutral — adjective

1. describes a person, country, or organisation that does not take sides or give he

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a person, country, or organisation that does not take sides or give help to any party in a conflict, dispute, or contest.

Example

Switzerland remained neutral during both world wars, refusing to join any military alliance.

collocation: remain neutral

The teacher stayed neutral when her students argued about whose project was better.

Common collocations
  • remain neutral
  • stay neutral
  • neutral country
  • neutral position
  • neutral stance
Synonyms
  • impartial

    stronger focus on fairness in judgment rather than mere non-involvement

  • unbiased

    emphasises lack of prejudice, often used in formal evaluations

  • non-aligned

    specifically describes a country that does not join any major power bloc

Antonyms
  • biased

    showing favour towards one side

  • partial

    giving support to one party over another

2. describes a sports venue where a match is held but which is not owned by any of

2.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a sports venue where a match is held but which is not owned by any of the competing teams, giving neither side a home advantage.

Example

The semi-final was on neutral ground in Osaka so neither team had home advantage.

collocation: neutral ground

The coach complained that playing on a neutral field removed their home-crowd energy.

Common collocations
  • neutral ground
  • neutral field
  • neutral venue
  • neutral stadium
Antonyms
  • home

    belonging to one of the competing teams

Usage Note

Almost always used before a noun such as 'ground', 'field', 'stadium', or 'venue'. Does not describe the teams themselves, only the location of the match.

3. having no strong, bright, or distinctive qualities — used to describe colours, s

3.adjectiveB2
Definition

having no strong, bright, or distinctive qualities — used to describe colours, sounds, expressions, or general appearances that do not attract attention or show strong emotion.

Example

Talia wore a plain grey dress so the interview focus stayed on her skills.

The walls were painted in a neutral beige that worked with any colour of furniture.

collocation: neutral colour

Common collocations
  • neutral colour
  • neutral tone
  • neutral voice
  • neutral expression
Synonyms
  • plain

    more general — can describe food, design, or appearance without decoration

  • subdued

    suggests deliberately toned-down, often of colours or emotions

  • pale

    specifically about light-coloured shades, not about emotional tone

Antonyms
  • bright

    strongly coloured or vivid

  • distinctive

    easily noticed because of unusual qualities

Common Mistakes

She wore a neutral beige neutral dress.
She wore a neutral beige dress.
Do not repeat 'neutral' with a non-gradable colour. One use is enough.

4. describes a substance that is neither acidic nor alkaline (basic), with a pH val

4.adjectiveB1
Definition

describes a substance that is neither acidic nor alkaline (basic), with a pH value of approximately 7.

Example

Pure water has a pH of 7 and is chemically neutral — neither acidic nor alkaline.

The lab assistant tested the solution and confirmed it was neutral before the experiment.

domain: chemistry

Common collocations
  • chemically neutral
  • pH neutral
  • neutral solution
  • neutral soil
Antonyms
  • acidic

    having a pH lower than 7

  • alkaline

    having a pH higher than 7; also called basic

Usage Note

Common with adverbs such as 'chemically' or 'roughly' (roughly neutral). The noun form 'neutrality' is rarely used in everyday conversation for this chemical sense.

5. describes a particle or object that has no overall electrical charge — it has eq

5.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes a particle or object that has no overall electrical charge — it has equal numbers of positive and negative charges, so it is neither positive nor negative.

Example

A neutron is a neutral particle found inside the nucleus of every atom except hydrogen.

The physicist explained that a neutral atom has the same number of protons and electrons.

Common collocations
  • electrically neutral
  • neutral particle
  • neutral charge
  • neutral atom
Synonyms
  • uncharged

    more direct synonym, common in technical writing

Antonyms
  • charged

    having a positive or negative electrical charge

  • ionised

    having lost or gained electrons, therefore carrying a charge

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 4 (CHEMICAL PH): that sense describes acidity level, while this sense describes electric charge. These are independent concepts — a chemical can be neutral in pH but charged electrically.

6. describes the wire in an electrical circuit that carries zero voltage and provid

6.adjectiveC1
Definition

describes the wire in an electrical circuit that carries zero voltage and provides the return path for current, completing the circuit safely.

Example

The electrician fixed the live wire to the switch and neutral to the lamp holder.

domain: electrical engineering

Hiro checked the voltage between neutral and earth wires to confirm the circuit was safe.

Common collocations
  • neutral wire
  • neutral terminal
  • neutral connection
Antonyms
  • live

    the wire carrying high voltage in a circuit

  • hot

    American term for the live wire

Usage Note

Almost always used as an attributive adjective before 'wire'. Not used as a standalone description of a circuit — the full phrase 'neutral wire' is the standard technical term. Distinguish from sense 5: that sense describes particles with no electric charge; this sense describes a specific wire in a household or industrial electrical system.

Idioms

on neutral ground/territory

idiom

In a place that is not controlled by any side, so no one has an unfair advantage.

The two leaders agreed to meet on neutral ground in Geneva.

Do you think we should discuss this on neutral territory?

neutral — noun

Word family

  • neutrally
    adverbB2
  • neutrality
    nounB2
  • neutralize
    verbB2
  • neutralization
    nounC1
  • neutralism
    nounC1
  • neutralist
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All three words describe taking a fair position, but they differ in scope and context. 'Neutral' (adjective/1) means not helping either side; it focuses on non-involvement rather than the quality of judgment. 'Impartial' emphasises lack of favouritism in a decision-making role — a judge or referee should be impartial. 'Unbiased' suggests the absence of personal prejudice that might distort fairness, common in research and reporting ('unbiased data', 'unbiased news'). 'Objective' goes a step further by basing judgments on facts rather than personal feelings or opinions; it is widely used in academic and professional settings ('objective analysis'). A person can be neutral without being objective — for example, a neutral country may still have its own opinions. To choose correctly: use 'neutral' when the key idea is staying out of a conflict, 'impartial' for formal judgment roles, 'unbiased' for data or reporting contexts, and 'objective' for fact-based evaluation.

impartialunbiased ↗objective ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • remain neutral
  • stay neutral
  • declare oneself neutral
  • maintain neutrality

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'neutral' entered English in the early 15th century from Old French 'neutral' (or directly from Latin 'neutralis'), meaning 'of neuter gender'. The Latin root 'neuter' is a combination of 'ne-' (not) and 'uter' (either of two), so the core idea is 'neither one nor the other'. The sense of 'not taking sides in a dispute' developed in the mid-1400s, while the scientific meanings (chemistry, physics, electricity) emerged in the 19th century as the concept of being 'in the middle' or 'neither extreme' was applied to different technical domains.