neu|ter

neu|ter «NOO tuhr, NYOO-», adjective, noun, verb.

–adj.

1. Grammar. a) neither masculine nor feminine: »

“It” is a neuter pronoun.

b) (of verbs) neither active nor passive; intransitive. Abbr: neut.

2. a) Zoology. without sex organs or with sex organs that are not fully developed: »

Worker bees are neuter.

b) Bota. having neither stamens nor pistils; functionally asexual.

3. being on neither side; neutral: »

as to these matters I shall be impartial, though I cannot be neuter (Sir Richard Steele).

–n.

1. Grammar. a) a neuter word or form. b) the neuter gender.

2. an animal, plant, or insect that is neuter.

3. a neutral: »

which knows no neuter, owns but friends or foes (Byron).

–v.t.

1. to castrate: »

They had had the animal neutered some seven years back, and it had grown gross, sulky, and resentful (New Yorker).

2. to counteract or make ineffective; neutralize: »

A point of view that refused to neuter itself with a “nevertheless—” or a “but we must not overlook—” (Sunday Times).

╂[< Latin neuter < nē not + uter either]