neutralize
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.”
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object.
Neutralize is a transitive verb and does not require a preposition before the object.
“Some body wash products are marketed as neutralizing 2-nonenal, such as soap made with persimmon.”
“Secondly, it is about “neutralising” leftwing forces in Latin America more generally and boosting the right in the hope of helping to elect even more Trump-aligned leaders.”
From French neutraliser (first attested in 1642). By surface analysis, neutral + -ize.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.