Neutralisers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A substance used to counteract or nullify the effects of an acid or base
2. an agent that renders something ineffective or harmless
3. a method or practice that achieves balance or impartiality in a situation

Etymology: "Neutraliser" is a plain English formation: "neutralise" with the agent suffix "-er" added. The verb "neutralise" comes from the adjective "neutral", which descends from Latin "neuter", meaning "neither one nor the other", a sense that makes the word's current use fit closely. A neutraliser is therefore literally whatever makes something neither active nor effective. The suffix is the more traceable part of the story. The "-er" ending came into English from Old English "-ere", which marked a person or thing that performs an action, and it reached Old English through Latin "-arius" via Proto-Germanic. Old French, which had its own "-ier", carried the same Latin ending into Middle English, so the suffix arrived by two routes that merged into one English form.

Synonyms: balancers, equalizers, counteracts, mitigators, alleviators

Antonyms: instigators, provokers, aggravators, intensifiers, amplifiers