neutralize
v.v. to stop something from being effective or dangerous. You use this when you want to balance out a force or make a threat harmless.
v. to render something ineffective or harmless by applying an opposite force or effect. In military or security contexts, it serves as a euphemism for killing or capturing an opponent.
The alkaline solution will neutralize the acid.
The security team moved quickly to neutralize the threat before any bystanders were injured.
By introducing a series of tax credits, the government hoped to neutralize the negative economic impact of the new carbon levy on small businesses.
From French neutraliser (first attested in 1642). By surface analysis, neutral + -ize.
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object.
neutralize against the poisonneutralize the poisonNeutralize is a transitive verb and does not require a preposition before the object.