[neu.tral.ize] vb -ized ; -iz.ing vt (1759) 1: to make chemically neutral
2. a: to counteract the activity or effect of: make ineffective "propaganda that is difficult to ~" b: kill, destroy
3: to make electrically inert by combining equal positive and negative quantities
4: to invest (as a territory or a nation) with conventional or obligatory neutrality conferring inviolability during a war
5: to make neutral by blending with the complementary color
6: to give (as a pair of phonemes) a nondistinctive form or pronunciation "/t/ and /d/ are neutralized when pronounced as flaps" ~ vi: to undergo neutralization -- neu.tral.iz.er n