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neutral

neutral

19 3.0
A color like gray or beige that has no strong hue
  • adjective
  • /ˈnjuːtrəl/
translation icon : neutro
  • She chose a neutral shade for her living room curtains to match the furniture.
  • a neutral color
  • neutral gray
  • a neutral set

My favorite shades are Nearly rose, nearly neutral, and nearly apricot.

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Examples

  • OK, so this is kind of like a neutral beige colour.

  • I was shaving when I got it and glanced at the pale neutral wall beside the mirror.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I want to take a look at this neutral brown right there.

  • It's a calm and neutral color.

  • What's a good, neutral background?

  • It's for Mac, and it is a really neutral nude color.

  • Meh, which is a really neutral light brown.

  • And this is just a really nice kind of like neutral toned brown shade.

  • This is just like a fairly neutral beige matte shadow.

  • And on my lips, I'm using a somewhat neutral, borderline rosy brown.

Synonyms

achromatic
vsneutral
1 8.1

Colors that do not have any hue, like black, white, and gray

is a broader, less absolute label for colors lacking a strong hue
neutral-colored
vsneutral
  • US
1 4.1

A color like beige or grey that does not draw attention

is about colors without strong hue, not just subdued tones
hueless
vsneutral
9.4

Something that has no color and looks grey or pale

is softer, meaning the shade simply lacks a strong hue rather than none

Antonyms

23 3.0

Very bright and clear in color and easy to notice

1 3.9

A color that is very strong and not mixed with white or grey

Compounds

3 4.6

An area where no one fights or competes

1 4.1

A color like beige or grey that does not draw attention

Idiom Neutral
  • Archaic
9.9

An international language made to help people from different countries talk

neutral spirits
  • Specialized
7.7

Very strong clear alcohol used to make drinks like gin or liqueurs

How Saturated

vivid
23 3.0
bright
235 1.0
muted
10 4.2
neutral
19 3.0
colorless
  • US
12 2.9

Surface Forms

neutral positive

Morphology

neutral = neuter (semi-transparent) = neuter + al

The color sense is an extended, somewhat metaphoric use of 'neither' (lacking strong hue), so the connection to 'neuter' is clear but requires semantic extension.

Etymology

Neutral comes from the Latin neuter 'neither of the two', so a neutral color is one that is 'neither' bright nor strong. That's why neutral tones like gray or beige match many other colors.