neutrality

English

Etymology

From Middle French neutralité, from Medieval Latin neutralitas.

Morphologically neutral +‎ -ity

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /njuːˈtɹæləti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /nuˈtɹæləti/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Noun

neutrality (usually uncountable, plural neutralities)

1. The state or quality of being neutral; the condition of being unengaged in contests between others; state of taking no part on either side.

   Synonyms: indifferent, on the fence

   • 1665, Joseph Glanvill, chapter XXVII, in Scepsis Scientifica: Or, Confest Ignorance, the Way to Science; in an Essay of the Vanity of Dogmatizing, and Confident Opinion with a Reply to the Exceptions of the Learned Thomas Albius‎, London: E. Cotes, page 168:

     And what happineſs is there in a ſtorm of paſſions? On this account the Scepticks affected an indifferent æquipondious neutrality as the only means to their Ataraxia, and freedom from paßionate diſturbances.

   • 1709, Joseph Addison, The Tatler:

     Men who possess a state of neutrality in times of public danger, desert the interest of their fellow subjects.

   • 1856 June 14, “England and America”, in The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, and Art, volume 2, number 33, London: John W. Parker and Son, page 141:

     The official pretence of a scrupulous solicitude to maintain neutrality is flagrantly insincere.

   • 2023 May 29, Madeline Holcombe, “Lizzo is teaching us about body neutrality. Here is what it means and how to get there”, in CNN‎:

     Lizzo, who is known for messages of self-love and wider acceptance, has recently said as much as she shared that she is encouraging a stance of body neutrality for herself and others.

2. (obsolete) Indifference in quality; a state neither very good nor bad.
   • 1611, John Donne, An Anatomy of the World:

     There is no health; physicians say that we
     At best enjoy but a neutrality.

3. (chemistry): The quality or state of being neutral.
4. (international law) The condition of a nation or government which refrains from taking part, directly or indirectly, in a war between other powers.
5. Those who are neutral; a combination of neutral powers or states.

Derived terms

• carbon neutrality
• exegetical neutrality
• gender neutrality
• nutrient neutrality
• positive neutrality

Translations

state of being neutral; taking no part on either side

Afrikaans: neutraliteit Albanian: asnjanësi (sq) f, neutralitet (sq) m Arabic: حِيَاد m (ḥiyād) Armenian: չեզոքություն (hy) (čʻezokʻutʻyun) Asturian: neutralidá f Azerbaijani: neytrallıq, bitərəflik Basque: neutraltasun Belarusian: нейтралітэ́т m (njejtralitét), нэўтралітэ́т m (neŭtralitét) Bulgarian: неутра́лност (bg) f (neutrálnost) Catalan: neutralitat (ca) f Chinese: Mandarin: 中立 (zh) (zhōnglì) Czech: neutralita f Danish: neutralitet c Dutch: neutraliteit (nl) Esperanto: neŭtraleco Estonian: neutraliteet Finnish: puolueettomuus (fi), neutraliteetti (fi) French: neutralité (fr) f Galician: neutralidade (gl) f Georgian: ნეიტრალიტეტი (neiṭraliṭeṭi), ნეიტრალობა (neiṭraloba) German: Neutralität (de) f Greek: ουδετερότητα (el) f (oudeterótita) Hebrew: ניטרליות f (niutráliyut), אֲדִישׁוּת (he) f (adishút) Hindi: तटस्थता f (taṭasthatā) Hungarian: semlegesség (hu); közömbösség (hu) (chemistry) Icelandic: hlutleysi n Indonesian: netral (id), netralitas (id) Interlingua: neutralitate Irish: neodracht f Italian: neutralità (it) f (all senses) Japanese: 中立 (ja) (ちゅうりつ, chūritsu), 中庸 (ja) (ちゅうよう, chūyō), 中性 (ja) (ちゅうせい, chūsei) Kazakh: бейтараптық (beitaraptyq) Korean: 중립(中立) (ko) (jungnip) Kurdish: Northern Kurdish: bêalîtî (ku) f Kyrgyz: бейтараптуулук (beytaraptuuluk) Lao: ຄວາມເປັນກາງ (khuām pen kāng) Latin: neutralitas f Latvian: neitralitāte f Lithuanian: neutralitetas m Macedonian: неутра́лност f (neutrálnost) Malay: berkecuali (ms) Nepali: तटस्थता (taṭasthatā) Norwegian: Bokmål: nøytralitet (no) f Nynorsk: nøytralitet Occitan: neutralitat (oc) f Persian: بی‌طرفی (fa) (bi-tarafi), نادرگیری (fa) Polish: neutralność (pl) f Portuguese: neutralidade (pt) f Romanian: neutralitate (ro) f Russian: нейтралите́т (ru) m (nejtralitét) Sanskrit: तटस्थता (taṭasthatā) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: неутра́лно̄ст f Roman: neutrálnōst (sh) f Slovak: neutralita f, nestrannosť f Slovene: nevtralnost f Spanish: neutralidad (es) f Swedish: neutralitet (sv) c Tagalog: neutralidad Tajik: бетарафӣ (betarafi) Thai: ความเป็นกลาง (kwaam-bpen-glaang) Turkish: tarafsızlık (tr), yansızlık (tr) Ukrainian: нейтра́льність f (nejtrálʹnistʹ), нейтраліте́т (uk) m (nejtralitét) Uzbek: betaraflik (uz) Vietnamese: trung lập (vi) (中立) Welsh: amhleidiaeth f, amhleidioldeb m Yiddish: נייטראַליטעט (neytralitet)

indifference in quality

Finnish: samanlaatuisuus, tasalaatuisuus (fi) Polish: neutralność (pl) f

chemistry: quality or state of being neutral

Bulgarian: неутра́лност (bg) f (neutrálnost) Finnish: neutraalius (fi)

international law: condition of a nation or government

Bulgarian: неутралите́т (bg) m (neutralitét) Finnish: puolueettomuus (fi), neutraliteetti (fi) Galician: neutralidade (gl) f Polish: neutralność (pl) f Russian: нейтралите́т (ru) m (nejtralitét)

those who are neutral

Finnish: puolueettomat pl

See also

• net neutrality
• network neutrality
• internet neutrality
• NN