neuter


Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
Related to neuter: Neuter gender

neu·ter

(no͞o′tər, nyo͞o′-)
adj.
1. Grammar
a. Neither masculine nor feminine in gender.
b. Neither active nor passive; intransitive. Used of verbs.
2. Biology
a. Having undeveloped or nonfunctional sexual organs: the neuter caste in social insects.
b. Having pistils and stamens that are nonfunctional or absent.
3. Castrated or spayed. Used of animals.
4. Androgynous or asexual.
5. Archaic Taking no side in a dispute; neutral.
n.
1. Grammar
a. The neuter gender.
b. A neuter word.
c. A neuter noun.
2. An androgynous or asexual person.
3. A castrated animal.
4. An insect that has undeveloped or nonfunctional sexual organs, such as a worker bee.
5. Archaic One that is neutral in a dispute.
tr.v. neu·tered, neu·ter·ing, neu·ters
1. To castrate or spay.
2. To render ineffective or powerless: a scandal that neutered the politician.
[Middle English neutre, from Old French, from Latin neuter, neither, neuter : ne-, not; see ne in Indo-European roots + uter, either; see kwo- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

neuter

(ˈnjuːtə)
adj
1. (Grammar) grammar
a. denoting or belonging to a gender of nouns which for the most part have inanimate referents or do not specify the sex of their referents
b. (as noun): German "Mädchen" (meaning "girl'") is a neuter.
2. (Biology) (of animals and plants) having nonfunctional, underdeveloped, or absent reproductive organs
3. sexless or giving no indication of sex: a neuter sort of name.
n
4. (Zoology) a sexually underdeveloped female insect, such as a worker bee
5. (Zoology) a castrated animal, esp a domestic animal
6. (Botany) a flower in which the stamens and pistil are absent or nonfunctional
vb
(Veterinary Science) (tr) to castrate or spay (an animal)
[C14: from Latin, from ne not + uter either (of two)]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

neu•ter

(ˈnu tər, ˈnyu-)
adj.
1.
a. of, pertaining to, or being a grammatical gender that refers to things classed as neither masculine nor feminine.
b. (of a verb) intransitive.
2. Biol. having no organs of reproduction; without sex; asexual.
3. Zool. having imperfectly developed sexual organs, as worker bees.
4. Bot. having neither stamens nor pistils; asexual.
5. neutral; siding with no one.
n.
6.
a. the neuter gender.
b. a word or other linguistic form in or marking the neuter gender.
7. an animal made sterile by castration or spaying.
8. a neuter insect.
9. an asexual plant.
10. a person or thing that is neutral.
v.t.
11. to spay or castrate (a dog, cat, etc.).
[1350–1400; Middle English neutre < Middle French < Latin neuter neither (of two)]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

neuter


Past participle: neutered
Gerund: neutering

Imperative
neuter
neuter
Present
I neuter
you neuter
he/she/it neuters
we neuter
you neuter
they neuter
Preterite
I neutered
you neutered
he/she/it neutered
we neutered
you neutered
they neutered
Present Continuous
I am neutering
you are neutering
he/she/it is neutering
we are neutering
you are neutering
they are neutering
Present Perfect
I have neutered
you have neutered
he/she/it has neutered
we have neutered
you have neutered
they have neutered
Past Continuous
I was neutering
you were neutering
he/she/it was neutering
we were neutering
you were neutering
they were neutering
Past Perfect
I had neutered
you had neutered
he/she/it had neutered
we had neutered
you had neutered
they had neutered
Future
I will neuter
you will neuter
he/she/it will neuter
we will neuter
you will neuter
they will neuter
Future Perfect
I will have neutered
you will have neutered
he/she/it will have neutered
we will have neutered
you will have neutered
they will have neutered
Future Continuous
I will be neutering
you will be neutering
he/she/it will be neutering
we will be neutering
you will be neutering
they will be neutering
Present Perfect Continuous
I have been neutering
you have been neutering
he/she/it has been neutering
we have been neutering
you have been neutering
they have been neutering
Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been neutering
you will have been neutering
he/she/it will have been neutering
we will have been neutering
you will have been neutering
they will have been neutering
Past Perfect Continuous
I had been neutering
you had been neutering
he/she/it had been neutering
we had been neutering
you had been neutering
they had been neutering
Conditional
I would neuter
you would neuter
he/she/it would neuter
we would neuter
you would neuter
they would neuter
Past Conditional
I would have neutered
you would have neutered
he/she/it would have neutered
we would have neutered
you would have neutered
they would have neutered
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun 1. neuter - a gender that refers chiefly (but not exclusively) to inanimate objects (neither masculine nor feminine)
gender, grammatical gender - a grammatical category in inflected languages governing the agreement between nouns and pronouns and adjectives; in some languages it is quite arbitrary but in Indo-European languages it is usually based on sex or animateness
Verb 1. [画像:neuter - remove the ovaries of]neuter - remove the ovaries of; "Is your cat spayed?"
defeminise, defeminize - remove the ovaries of (female mammals such as cats)
desex, desexualise, desexualize, sterilise, sterilize, unsex, fix - make infertile; "in some countries, people with genetically transmissible disabilites are sterilized"
Adj. 1. neuter - of grammatical gender; "`it' is the third-person singular neuter pronoun"
feminine - of grammatical gender
masculine - of grammatical gender
2. neuter - having no or imperfectly developed or nonfunctional sex organs
asexual, nonsexual - not having or involving sex; "an asexual spore"; "asexual reproduction"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

neuter

verb
1. castrate, doctor (informal), emasculate, spay, dress, fix (informal), geld Responsible cat owners should have their pets neutered.
adjective
1. sexless, androgynous, asexual, hermaphrodite, nonsexual, epicene I am really neuter, neither male nor female.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

neuter

adjective
Not inclining toward or actively taking either side in a matter under dispute:
Idiom: on the fence.
verb
To render incapable of reproducing sexually:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
عَديم الجِنْسمُحايِد: لا مُذَكَّر ولا مُؤَنَّث
bezpohlavnístředního rodu
intetkønintetkøns-kønsløs
intransitiivinenintransitiiviverbikastroidakuohiakuohita
semleges
hvorugkynskynlaus
中性の中性的な中立の中立的な未成熟な
중성의
belytisbevardės giminŗsniekatrosios giminŗs
bezdzimumanekatras dzimtes-nekatrs
stredného rodu
cinsiyetsizeşeysiznötr

neuter

[ˈnjuːtəʳ]
A. ADJ
1. (Ling) → neutro
2. [cat] → castrado
3. (Bot) [plant] → asexuado
B. N
1. (Ling) → neutro m
in the neuter → en género neutro
2. (= cat) → macho m castrado
3. (= insect) → insecto m asexuado
C. VT [+ cat] → castrar, capar
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

neuter

[ˈnjuːtər]
adj → neutre
n → neutre m
vt [+ animal] → stériliser
to have a dog neutered → faire stériliser un chien
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

neuter

adj
(Gram) → sächlich ; this word is neuter → dieses Wort ist sächlich or ein Neutrum
animal, person → geschlechtslos ; (= castrated) → kastriert ; plant → ungeschlechtlich
n
(Gram) → Neutrum nt; (= noun) → Neutrum nt, → sächliches Substantiv ; in the neuter → in der sächlichen Form, im Neutrum
(= animal) → geschlechtsloses Wesen ; (castrated) → kastriertes Tier ; (= plant) → ungeschlechtliche Pflanze
vt cat, dog → kastrieren ; female, male → sterilisieren ; (esp Brit fig: = render ineffective) → kastrieren
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

neuter

[ˈnjuːtəʳ]
1. adj → neutro/a
2. n (Gram) → neutro
3. vt (cat) → castrare
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

neuter

(ˈnjuːtə) adjective
1. in certain languages, of the gender which is neither masculine nor feminine. a neuter noun. onsydige geslag مُحايِد: لا مُذَكَّر ولا مُؤَنَّث среден род neutro středního rodu sächlich intetkøn; intetkøns- ουδέτερος neutro kesksoost خنثی neutri neutre סתמי, מחוסר מין नपुंसक लिंग srednjeg roda semleges (nemű) netral hvorugkyns neutro 中性の (문법의) 중성의 niekatrosios, bevardės giminės nekatrs; nekatras dzimtes- neutral onzijdig intetkjønn, nøytrum nijaki خنثى neutro neutru среднего рода stredného rodu srednji spol srednji neutral, neutrum- เป็นกลาง cinsiyetsiz, nötr 中性的(名詞的性) середній, середнього роду نہ مذکر نہ مؤنث thuộc giống trung 中性的(名詞)
2. without sex. Worker bees are neuter, being neither male nor female. geslagloos عَديم الجِنْس бзполов neutro bezpohlavní geschlechtslos kønsløs άφυλος, ουδέτερος neutro sootu خواجه sukupuoleton neutre חֲסַר מִין नपुंसक bez roda neutralan nem nélküli tanpa kelamin kynlaus neutro 中性の 중성의 belytis bezdzimuma bersifat neuter geslachtloos kjønnsløs bezpłciowy بى جنسه neutro asexuat бесполый bezpohlavný brezspolen bezrodan könlös ซึ่งไม่มีเพศ eşeysiz, cinsiyetsiz 無性的 безстатевий بے جنس vô tính 无性的
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.
References in classic literature ?
[Nouns in themselves are either masculine, feminine, or neuter. Masculine are such as end in {nu}, {rho}, {sigma}, or in some letter compounded with {sigma},--these being two, and {xi}.
Neuter nouns end in these two latter vowels; also in {nu} and
"Ye--es," Miss Dearborn answered hesitatingly, never very sure of herself under Rebecca's fire; "but though we often speak of a baby, a chicken, or a kitten as `it,' they are really masculine or feminine gender, not neuter."
Rebecca reflected a long moment and then asked, "Is a hollyhock neuter?"
I have shown what a bother it is to decline a good (male) friend; well this is only a third of the work, for there is a variety of new distortions of the adjective to be learned when the object is feminine, and still another when the object is neuter. Now there are more adjectives in this language than there are black cats in Switzerland, and they must all be as elaborately declined as the examples above suggested.
To continue with the German genders: a tree is male, its buds are female, its leaves are neuter; horses are sexless, dogs are male, cats are female--tomcats included, of course; a person's mouth, neck, bosom, elbows, fingers, nails, feet, and body are of the male sex, and his head is male or neuter according to the word selected to signify it, and NOT according to the sex of the individual who wears it--for in Germany all the women either male heads or sexless ones; a person's nose, lips, shoulders, breast, hands, and toes are of the female sex; and his hair, ears, eyes, chin, legs, knees, heart, and conscience haven't any sex at all.
A Wife, here, has no sex; she is neuter; so, according to the grammar, a fish is HE, his scales are SHE, but a fishwife is neither.
Tell me what you wish to undertake, and, upon the word of a D'Artagnan, if I cannot help you, I will swear to remain neuter."
"Aramis, I will do more than help you - I will do more than remain neuter - I will save you."
[Footnote: Since the French word 'Morte' is feminine, the preceding article was originally 'La,' but the whole name had come to be thought of as a compound phrase and hence as masculine or neuter in gender.] Actually to get together all the Arthurian romances was not possible for any man in Malory's day, or in any other, but he gathered up a goodly number, most of them, at least, written in French, and combined them, on the whole with unusual skill, into a work of about one-tenth their original bulk, which still ranks, with all qualifications, as one of the masterpieces of English literature.
View in context
One of the gravest is that of neuter insects, which are often very differently constructed from either the males or fertile females; but this case will be treated of in the next chapter.
View in context
Young and old, men and children, never ceased repeating the word "yammerschooner," which means "give me." After pointing to almost every object, one after the other, even to the buttons on our coats, and saying their favourite word in as many intonations as possible, they would then use it in a neuter sense, and vacantly repeat "yammerschooner." After yammerschoonering for any article very eagerly, they would by a simple artifice point to their young women or little children, as much as to say, "If you will not give it me, surely you will to such as these."
View in context