Standard Lemma guide

neutralization

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌnjuːtɹəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˌnuːtɹəlaɪˈzeɪʃən/
  • CMU ARPABET: N UW2 T R AH0 L AH0 Z EY1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The act of neutralizing.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

action intended to nullify the effects of some previous action

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: neutralisation, counteraction

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nullification, override

3

noun

Meaning 3

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • the neutralization of Belgium

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: neutralisation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nullification, override

4

noun

Meaning 4

(euphemism) the removal of a threat by killing or destroying it (especially in a covert operation or military operation)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: neutralisation

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: destruction, devastation

5

noun

Meaning 5

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

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: neutralisation, neutralization reaction, neutralisation reaction

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: chemical reaction, reaction

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French neutralisation. By surface analysis, neutral + -ization or neutralize + -ation.

Across languages

Translations

26 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Albanian: asnjanësim — neutralization
  • Asturian: neutralización — neutralization
  • Belarusian: нейтраліза́цыя (njejtralizácyja) — neutralization
  • Catalan: neutralització — neutralization
  • Chinese Mandarin: 中和作用 — neutralization
  • Danish: neutralisering — neutralization
  • Dutch: neutralisering — neutralization
  • Dutch: neutralisatie — neutralization
  • Estonian: neutraliseerimine — neutralization
  • Finnish: neutralisaatio — neutralization
  • French: neutralisation — neutralization
  • Galician: neutralización — neutralization
  • German: Neutralisierung — neutralization
  • Hungarian: semlegesítés — neutralization
  • Irish: neodrú — neutralization
  • Italian: neutralizzazione — neutralization
  • Japanese: 中和 (chūwa) — neutralization
  • Korean: 중화 (junghwa) — neutralization
  • Latvian: neitralizācija — neutralization
  • Latvian: neitralizēšana — neutralization
  • Polish: neutralizacja — neutralization
  • Portuguese: neutralização — neutralization
  • Russian: нейтрализа́ция (nejtralizácija) — neutralization
  • Spanish: neutralización — neutralization
  • Swedish: neutralisering — neutralization
  • Ukrainian: нейтраліза́ція (nejtralizácija) — neutralization