to neutralize

Examples

• All

• We need a way to neutralize him.

  StarDog and TurboCat (2019)

• So we need to neutralize it.

  Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019)

• Might need to neutralize it a little bit with something else.

• So the trick is now you neutralize it very rapidly, right?

• Just add a little bit and then you add a little water to the mix to neutralize the oil so it's not as harsh.

• So I'm just asking for a little time, hopefully my men can neutralize this situation.

  Black Water (2018)

• But why it really matters in this context is that it's been found to neutralize cortisol.

  Chris Williamson

• Unite with love and neutralize the negativity.

• Institutional values act to nurture and support or to frustrate, limit, and neutralize teacher development.

  Academic text (1993)

• You can use baking soda to neutralize the acidity of the vinegar in the recipe.

Synonyms

M

to mitigate

vsto neutralize

63 5.8

Make something less harmful or painful

aims to make something harmless entirely by counteracting its effect

N

to negate

vsto neutralize

52 5.3

To make something no longer work or be true

aims specifically to render something harmless by countering its effect

C

to counteract

vsto neutralize

47 4.8

To act against something to reduce its effect

focuses on making something harmless by opposing its effect

C

to cancel out

vsto neutralize

12 4.0

Make one thing stop the effect of another so nothing happens

does this by making something harmless through direct opposing action

N

to nullify

vsto neutralize

12 6.8

To make something lose its effect or value

does the same but always by counteracting to make it harmless

C

to counterbalance

vsto neutralize

9 5.1

To balance the effect of something by adding an opposite force

creates harmlessness by counteracting rather than merely balancing

C

to countervail

vsto neutralize

• Formal

4 9.3

To act against something to reduce its effect

uses opposition to remove harm rather than only balance forces

D

to detoxify

vsto neutralize

2 5.4

To remove harmful substances from something to make it safe

achieves harmlessness by opposing effects rather than by removing toxins

D

to defang

vsto neutralize

2 7.9

To make a threat or criticism less powerful

does this more generally by opposing effects not just disarming threats

C

to counterpoise

vsto neutralize

1 9.8

To balance something by acting against it

works by opposing effects to make them ineffective rather than just weighing them

S

to stultify

vsto neutralize

• Formal

1 9.8

Make someone or something lose energy and stop working well

neutralizes by actively counteracting effects rather than causing decline

Antonyms

E

to enhance

424 4.0

Make something better or more attractive

E

to empower

157 4.2

Give someone the power and confidence to do something

Phrasal Verbs

N

to neutralize the taste

• US

4.4

To make a strong or bad flavor weaker by adding another ingredient

How Neutral

to annihilate

• NSFW

63 7.5

to neutralize

39 5.6

to counter

190 4.3

to cancel

224 1.0

to mitigate

63 5.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology