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neutral
in a sentence
grouped by contextual meaning

neutral as in:  played at a neutral site

Switzerland remained neutral during the Second World War.
neutral = not taking either side
Show 3 more with this contextual meaning
  • The game will not be played at either school. Instead, it will be played at a neutral site.
    neutral = not favoring either side
  • Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.  (source)
    neutrality = not taking a side in a conflict
  • I guess even though she was neutral, she didn't want to be seen with me.  (source)
    neutral = not favoring either side
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Show 10 more with 10 word variations
  • The Tradition says that an oasis is neutral territory, because both sides have oases, and so both are vulnerable.  (source)
    neutral = not involved in a struggle
  • Mayella's hostility, which had subsided to grudging neutrality, flared again.  (source)
    neutrality = not favoring any side in a disagreement
  • The man's face softened and he took a deep breath, as if he sensed the growing danger in the room and wanted to neutralize it.†  (source)
    neutralize = removing the favoring any side in a contest, war, disagreement, or other dispute
    standard suffix: The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize.
  • Or they're looking for something that can't be detected until we're mostly neutralized.†  (source)
  • I tried to say the name neutrally, glad I hadn't said it before in this conversation.†  (source)
    neutrally = in a manner that does not favor any side in a contest, war, disagreement, or other dispute
  • I urge you to seize this chance, for he will suffer no cravens or neutrals once battle is joined.†  (source)
  • I dream only of neutralizing harm, not absolute and permanent conquest.†  (source)
  • Should any little accidental disappointment of the appetite occur, such as the spoiling of a meal, the under or the over dressing of a dish, the incident ought not to be neutralised by replacing with something more delicate the comfort lost, thus pampering the body and obviating the aim of this institution; it ought to be improved to the spiritual edification of the pupils, by encouraging them to evince fortitude under temporary privation.†  (source)
    unconventional spelling: This is a British spelling. Americans use neutralized.
  • A bullet in the head neutralizes the explosives in her mind.†  (source)
  • He was not sorry to assure himself of Jotham's neutralising presence at the supper table, for Zeena was always "nervous" after a journey.†  (source)
    unconventional spelling: This is a British spelling. Americans use neutralizing.
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neutral as in:  a carbon-neutral building

All the bathrooms in the dorm are gender neutral.
neutral = not affected (in this case, bathrooms can be used by any gender)
Show 3 more with this contextual meaning
  • This store only sells gender neutral clothing.
    neutral = not affected (in this case, clothes made to be worn regardless of gender)
  • Admissions at that college are race neutral.
    neutral = not affected (in this case, admissions are not affected by gender)
  • The committee is suggesting some cost neutral improvements.
    neutral = not affected (in this case, improvements that do not affect cost)
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Show 10 more with 4 word variations
  • They're encouraging the use of Mx. as a gender-neutral replacement for Mr. and Ms.
    neutral = not affected (in this case, a title not affected by gender)
  • It would take individual Marine riflemen on the ground to charge and neutralize these defenses.  (source)
    neutralize = make something so it has no effect
    standard suffix: The suffix "-ize" converts a word to a verb. This is the same pattern you see in words like apologize, theorize, and dramatize.
  • Sometimes, though, when his heartbeat neutralized and his body became functional again, he would turn off the lamp and stand in the darkness of the basement.  (source)
    neutralized = stopped being so strong
  • Made from all natural ingredients, it neutralizes odor-causing fungi and bacteria.  (source)
    neutralizes = makes something have no effect
  • The notation "7, 7, 14, 10, 11, 11," for instance, means that in one six-second stretch, one member of the couple was briefly angry, then neutral, had a moment of defensiveness, and then began whining.  (source)
    neutral = having no effect
  • There was some research not long ago which came up with the interesting discovery that the oxalic acid content of spinach tends to neutralize a lot of the calcium, which you probably need also.  (source)
    neutralize = make so it has no effect
  • In his capacity as an administrator, it is often necessary for a member of the Inner Party to know that this or that item of war news is untruthful, and he may often be aware that the entire war is spurious and is either not happening or is being waged for purposes quite other than the declared ones: but such knowledge is easily neutralized by the technique of doublethink.  (source)
    neutralized = made to have no effect
  • Even in its rubble, like an exploded volcano, the configuration of the ghetto was familiar to her (she had lived on its perimeter), but as with all movie scenes of war-blasted Europe she tended to narrow her eyes to slits, as if to filter out the wasteland and render it even more a smudge, a neutral blur.  (source)
    neutral = having no effect
  • In the crucial years, the fact that the Party was not a hereditary body did a great deal to neutralize opposition.  (source)
    neutralize = make something so it has no effect
  • Effortlessly, my father neutralized the man's intrusive thrust without disturbing the social atmosphere.  (source)
    neutralized = made to have no effect
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neutral as in:  decorated in neutral colors

The painting would look best in a room of neutral colors, so it will stand out.
neutral = bland (not striking in appearance)
Show 3 more with this contextual meaning
  • All the apartments I've looked at have such boring neutral colors.
  • So he stood still, holding his expression neutral, as the second swing connected with his head.  (source)
    neutral = not showing feelings or opinions
  • The one girl picked a nice neutral shade, so it wasn't too bad.  (source)
    neutral = not striking in appearance
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Show 6 more
  • Mrs. van Daan, Dussel and I were doing the dishes, and I was extremely quiet. This is very unusual for me and they were sure to notice, so in order to avoid any questions, I quickly racked my brains for a neutral topic.  (source)
    neutral = non-controversial
  • Or they can be in negative sentiment override, so that even a relatively neutral thing that a partner says gets perceived as negative.  (source)
  • Using the deceptively neutral term "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere," Japanese propaganda claimed that Japan's aim was to free its neighbors from white colonial rule.  (source)
  • So they had to keep on neutral subjects.  (source)
  • It dropped no bombs, passing peacefully overhead, but its appearance was a telling sign of how far over Japan the Americans were now venturing, and how little resistance the Japanese could offer. ... At the work sites, the prisoners hid their excitement behind neutral faces to avoid provoking the guards, who were unusually tense and hostile.  (source)
    neutral = not showing feelings or opinions
  • The answer came in a neutral way.  (source)
    neutral = not striking
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neutral as in:  Put the car in neutral.

Put the car in neutral and we'll push it.
neutral = with the gears unengaged
Show 3 more with this contextual meaning
  • When the car is in neutral, I hear a whistling noise.
  • We need to get the economy out of neutral and start growing again.
    neutral = an inactive or unengaged state
  • He tells me to put the car in neutral and guide it with the steering wheel.  (source)
    neutral = so the gears are unengaged
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Show 7 more
  • Her back hurt so bad it felt as though that old car had run her over, rather than sat in neutral while she and Iko pushed and pulled it through the back roads.  (source)
    neutral = a state with gears unengaged
  • "We'll put the car in neutral," I said.  (source)
    neutral = a state where the gears are unengaged
  • You didn't put it in neutral.  (source)
    neutral = so the gears are unengaged
  • I sprinted for my Bug, jumped in, put it in neutral, and was truly thankful that our driveway was ridiculously steep when my wonderful car rolled smoothly and silently into the street.  (source)
    neutral = unengaging the gears
  • Cinder allowed one overwhelming cry of relief, then jammed her foot into the clutch and pulled the transmission out of neutral, reciting the instructions she'd downloaded a week ago and had been studying ever since.  (source)
    neutral = a state with gears unengaged
  • He puts the stick into neutral for me.  (source)
    neutral = so the gears are unengaged
  • I stop the car and put it in neutral.  (source)
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