Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To make neutral.
- transitive verb To counterbalance or counteract the effect of; render ineffective.
- transitive verb To declare neutral and therefore inviolable during a war.
- transitive verb To make (a solution) neutral.
- transitive verb To cause (an acid or base) to undergo neutralization.
- transitive verb Medicine To counteract the effect of (a drug or toxin).
- transitive verb Slang To remove as a threat, especially by killing.
from The Century Dictionary.
- In motor-racing, to give a neutral character to (a town or to a specified part of a road), that is, to arrange that the time used in passing through or over it is not to be counted in the race.
- To render neutral; reduce to a state of neutrality between different parties Or opinions.
- In chem., to destroy or render inert or imperceptible the peculiar properties of, by chemical combination. See
neutralization , 1. - To render inoperative; invalidate; nullify; counterbalance: as, to
neutralize opposition. - Also spelled
neutralise .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To render neutral; to reduce to a state of neutrality.
- transitive verb (Chem.) To render inert or imperceptible the peculiar affinities of, as a chemical substance; to destroy the effect of.
- transitive verb To destroy the peculiar properties or opposite dispositions of; to reduce to a state of indifference or inefficiency; to counteract; to render ineffective
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb American Alternative spelling of
neutralise .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing
- verb make politically neutral and thus inoffensive
- verb make chemically neutral
- verb make incapable of military action
- verb make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of
- verb oppose and mitigate the effects of by contrary actions
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The freedom of the press should be thus far restricted; so that when a man publicly proclaims through the far-sounding trumpet of the newspaper, he should be answerable for it, at any rate with his honor, if he has any; and if he has none, let his name neutralize the effect of his words.
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(However, while ominous in tone, the term "neutralize" -- as used by government agents -- was never really defined.)
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Are we really going to stay in Iraq until we "neutralize" -- i.e. blow to pieces or imprison in Abu Ghraib -- every Iraqi who isn't keen on our notion of a unified, multi-sectarian, pro American, pro Western, anti-Islamist Iraq?
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Tense talks over U.S. plans to build a defense shield in Eastern Europe, with Russia now vowing to "neutralize" -- "neutralize" -- the proposed system.
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It was during the Phoenix Program that the word "neutralize" -- meaning assassinate -- originated as part of the vocabulary of the U.S. military and intelligence operations.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED 2009
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It was during the Phoenix Program that the word "neutralize" -- meaning assassinate -- originated as part of the vocabulary of the U.S. military and intelligence operations.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED 2009
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The same firm was also proposing, for Bank of America, a plot to destroy Wikileaks, and to "neutralize" constitutional scholar Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com.
The Yes Men: Could the Chamber of Commerce Leak Scandal Rouse America's "Facebook Generation"? The Yes Men 2011
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The same firm was also proposing, for Bank of America, a plot to destroy Wikileaks, and to "neutralize" constitutional scholar Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com.
The Yes Men: Could the Chamber of Commerce Leak Scandal Rouse America's "Facebook Generation"? The Yes Men 2011
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Turkish leaders are convinced that the only strategy that could 'neutralize' Iran's nuclear weapons potential is comprehensive negotiations with Iran (as Tehran proposed in April 2003) that would cover all manner of security issues of concern to Iran, the US, and regional parties.
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Turkish leaders are convinced that the only strategy that could 'neutralize' Iran's nuclear weapons potential is comprehensive negotiations with Iran (as Tehran proposed in April 2003) that would cover all manner of security issues of concern to Iran, the US, and regional parties.
valse commented on the word neutralize
A cleverly deceptive euphemism for "kill."
April 30, 2007