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^[1], 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.

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
• gender 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) (čʿezokʿutʿyun)
• 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)
• French: neutralité (fr) f
• Galician: neutralidade (gl) f
• Georgian: ნეიტრალიტეტი (neiṭraliṭeṭi)
• 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)
• 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

• 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
• Tajik: бетарафӣ (betarafī)
• 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

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