neutralize [noo -truh -lahyz, nyoo -]
Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for neutralize on Thesaurus.com verb (used with object), neu·tral·ized, neu·tral·iz·ing. to make neutral ; cause to undergo neutralization . to make (something) ineffective; counteract; nullify: carelessness that neutralized our efforts. Military to put out of action or make incapable of action: to neutralize an enemy position. to declare neutral ; invest with neutrality in order to exempt from involvement during a war: to neutralize a city to prevent bombing. to add an acid to a basic solution or a base to an acidic solution until the resulting solution is chemically neutral (pH = 7). Electricity to render electrically or magnetically neutral . Show More
verb (used without object), neu·tral·ized, neu·tral·iz·ing. to become neutral or neutralized; undergo neutralization : With this additive the solution begins to neutralize. Show More
Also especially British neu·tral·ise .
Origin of neutralize First recorded in
1655–65; neutral +
-ize Related forms neu·tral·iz·er , noun o·ver·neu·tral·ize , verb (used with object), o·ver·neu·tral·ized, o·ver·neu·tral·iz·ing. o·ver·neu·tral·iz·er , noun re·neu·tral·ize , verb, re·neu·tral·ized, re·neu·tral·iz·ing. un·neu·tral·ize , verb (used with object), un·neu·tral·ized, un·neu·tral·iz·ing. Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for neutralize subdue ,
nullify ,
redress ,
counterbalance ,
offset ,
negate ,
overcome ,
counterpoise ,
invalidate ,
countervail ,
negative ,
undo ,
frustrate ,
override ,
annul ,
conquer ,
defeat ,
cancel ,
abrogate ,
balance Examples from the Web for neutralize Contemporary Examples of neutralize The serum failed to neutralize the virus in subsequent tests and seemed to offer little protection in animal experiments.
It is fair to assume that the IDF would move immediately to neutralize the threat.
The letter that Indian M.P.s wrote was an effort to exert counter-pressure and neutralize that campaign.
Unless we neutralize the air assets with the no-fly zone, this bleeding will continue.
He posed a challenge for the church: he was too revered not to claim, too radical not to neutralize .
Historical Examples of neutralize This will neutralize the acid and prevent it from rotting the wood.
This helps to neutralize the acid and keep it from injuring the wood or cement.
This will neutralize any acid which may be present in the moisture.
He can take nothing away, but only cauterize and neutralize , he says, so why not let him try?
If we tried it this close, we'd just be trying to neutralize the sun's gravity.
British Dictionary definitions for neutralize (also intr) to render or become ineffective or neutral by counteracting, mixing, etc; nullify (also intr) to make or become electrically or chemically neutral to exclude (a country) from the sphere of warfare or alliances by international agreement the great powers neutralized Belgium in the 19th century to render (an army) incapable of further military action Show More
Derived Forms neutralization or neutralisation , noun neutralizer or neutraliser , noun Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for neutralize v. 1734, "to render neutral" (in a chemical sense), from French neutraliser (17c.), from neutral (see neutral (adj.)). Meaning "to counterbalance, to kill by opposing" is from 1795. Related: Neutralized ; neutralizing .
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
To cause an acidic solution to become neutral by adding a base to it or to cause a basic solution to become neutral by adding an acid to it. Salt and water are usually formed in the process. Show More
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
