Neutrality is the state of not taking either side. In its biggest sense it is a country's official position of staying out of a war: Switzerland is the famous example, and armed neutrality — staying out but keeping an army ready — is a real and respected policy, not simply hiding. There is even international law about it, setting out what a neutral country may and may not do, such as not letting either side march soldiers across its land. But the word is used far more widely than war. A judge, a referee, a mediator, a journalist and a teacher are all expected to show neutrality — to treat both sides with the same weight and let their own opinion stay out of it. It also gets used about things that are not people: the neutrality of a colour or a smell (having no strong character), electrical neutrality (no charge either way), and "net neutrality", the rule that an internet company must carry everyone's data at the same speed rather than favouring its own services. Two honest notes. First, it is uncountable — "neutrality", not "a neutrality". Second, the word sounds clean but is often fought over: people who criticise neutrality say it is a comfortable way of avoiding responsibility, and the sentence "neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim" is a well-known line of argument. So when you use the word, expect the other person to have feelings about it.