NEUTRALISE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does neutralise mean? 

• NEUTRALISE (verb)
  The verb NEUTRALISE has 4 senses:

1. get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing

2. make incapable of military action

3. make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of

4. make chemically neutral

  Familiarity information: NEUTRALISE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• NEUTRALISE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they neutralise    ... he / she / it neutralises   
Past simple: neutralised   
Past participle: neutralised   
-ing form: neutralising   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Get rid of (someone who may be a threat) by killing

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

do in; knock off; liquidate; neutralise; neutralize; waste

Context example:

the double agent was neutralized

Hypernyms (to "neutralise" is one way to...):

kill (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make incapable of military action

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

neutralise; neutralize

Hypernyms (to "neutralise" is one way to...):

demilitarise; demilitarize (do away with the military organization and potential of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

neutralisation (action intended to keep a country politically neutral or exclude it from a possible war)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Make ineffective by counterbalancing the effect of

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

negate; neutralise; neutralize; nullify

Context example:

This action will negate the effect of my efforts

Hypernyms (to "neutralise" is one way to...):

weaken (lessen the strength of)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

neutralisation (action intended to nullify the effects of some previous action)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Make chemically neutral

Classified under:

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc.

Synonyms:

neutralise; neutralize

Context example:

She neutralized the solution

Hypernyms (to "neutralise" is one way to...):

alter; change; modify (cause to change; make different; cause a transformation)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

neutralisation (a chemical reaction in which an acid and a base interact with the formation of a salt; with strong acids and bases the essential reaction is the combination of hydrogen ions with hydroxyl ions to form water)

 Context examples 

According to Sunagar, there is an urgent need for specific antivenoms that can efficiently neutralise bites from all snake varieties.

(‘India needs region-specific snakebite antivenoms’, SciDev.Net)

Should any little accidental disappointment of the appetite occur, such as the spoiling of a meal, the under or the over dressing of a dish, the incident ought not to be neutralised by replacing with something more delicate the comfort lost, thus pampering the body and obviating the aim of this institution; it ought to be improved to the spiritual edification of the pupils, by encouraging them to evince fortitude under temporary privation.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“Surprisingly, the tested Indian antivenom also poorly neutralised the venom of the northern population of the common krait, one of the ‘big four’ against which it is produced,” Sunagar says.

(‘India needs region-specific snakebite antivenoms’, SciDev.Net)

The commercially available antidote is a polyvalent antivenom which, when injected into the bloodstream, is expected to neutralise neurotoxic (toxic to nerves) or cytotoxic (toxic to cells) venom.

(‘India needs region-specific snakebite antivenoms’, SciDev.Net)