neutralize

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From French neutraliser (first attested in 1642).[1] By surface analysis, neutral +‎ -ize.

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈnjuːtɹəlaɪz/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈnutɹəˌlaɪz/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Verb

neutralize (third-person singular simple present neutralizes, present participle neutralizing, simple past and past participle neutralized)

  1. (transitive) To make (something) even, inactive or ineffective.
    Synonyms: counteract, counterweigh
    The antidote neutralized the toxin.
    • 2022 September 29, Carl Zimmer, “A New Approach to Spotting Tumors: Look for Their Microbes”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 1 December 2022:
      It’s possible that some microbes don’t just take up residence in tumors but help them grow. They may cloak the tumor from the immune system, neutralize drugs or help tumors spread through the body.
  2. (transitive) To make (a territory, etc.) politically neutral.
    • 1965, United States. Congress. Senate, Hearings, volume 1, page 77:
      All the powers involved are committed not only to stay out of a given territory, but also to reenter it if any one of them violates the independence of the neutralized country.
  3. (transitive, chemistry) To make (an acidic or alkaline substance) chemically neutral.
  4. (transitive, military, euphemistic) To kill.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ “neutralize, v.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Portuguese

Verb

neutralize

  1. inflection of neutralizar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative
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