What does "intermediate" mean?
Anything in an intermediate position.
Intermediate
/ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Anything in an intermediate position.
- Grammar: intermediate is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: act between, agent, amidships, ancilla.
- Useful contrasts: extreme, intense, strange.
- Usage evidence: Intermediate and advanced language courses are given in the language being learned.
How to use "intermediate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "intermediate" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "intermediate" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "intermediate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "intermediate" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "intermediate" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "act between" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "intermediate", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Anything in an intermediate position.
"In Oklahoma, an intermediate license holder may not carry more than one non-family member in the vehicle unless accompanied in the front seat by a licensed driver over 21 years of age."
- 2 a substance formed during a chemical process before the desired product is obtained wordnet
- 3 An intermediary.
- 4 An automobile that is larger than a compact but smaller than a full-sized car.
- 5 Any substance formed as part of a series of chemical reactions that is not the end-product.
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Any substance formed as part of a series of chemical reactions that is not the end-product.; Any such substance that is produced and sold to commercial customers (business-to-business sales) as an input to other chemical processes.
- 7 A kind of tyre with relatively light grooving, used for conditions between fully dry and fully wet.
"Light rain was coming so he chose intermediate tyres."
Verb
- 1 To mediate, to be an intermediate. intransitive
- 2 act between parties with a view to reconciling differences wordnet
- 3 To arrange, in the manner of a broker. transitive
"Central banks need to regulate the entities that intermediate monetary transactions."
Adjective
- 1 Being between two extremes, or in the middle of a range.
"Then, being on his knees between my thighs, he drew up his ſhirt, and bared all his hairy thighs, and ſtiff ſtaring truncheon, red-topt, and rooted into a thicket of curls, which cover’d his belly to his navel, and gave it the air of a fleſh-bruſh: and ſoon I felt it joining cloſe to mine, when he had drove the nail up to the head, and left no partition but the intermediate hair on both ſides."
Adjective
- 1 lying between two extremes in time or space or state wordnet
- 2 around the middle of a scale of evaluation wordnet
Example
"Intermediate and advanced language courses are given in the language being learned."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "intermediate"?
Common synonyms include: act between, agent, amidships, ancilla, appliance, arbitrate.
How do you use "intermediate" in a sentence?
Intermediate and advanced language courses are given in the language being learned.
How do you pronounce "intermediate"?
Pronounced /ɪn.tə(ɹ)ˈmi.di.ət/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Borrowed from Medieval Latin intermediātus, perfect passive participle of intermediō (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), further from intermedius (“intermediate”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).
Etymology 2
From a substantivization of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Medieval Latin intermediātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.