What does "mediate" mean?
To resolve differences, or to bring about a settlement, between conflicting parties.
Mediate
/ˈmidieɪt/ adj, verb
adj, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: To resolve differences, or to bring about a settlement, between conflicting parties.
- Grammar: mediate is listed as adj, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: arbitrate, accommodate, act between, act for.
- Useful contrasts: immediate, immediate event, bypass.
- Usage evidence: Interpreters mediate between different cultures.
How to use "mediate"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mediate" 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 "mediate" 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 "mediate" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mediate" 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 "mediate" is acting as adj, 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 "arbitrate" 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.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mediate", 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
Verb
- 1 To resolve differences, or to bring about a settlement, between conflicting parties. transitive
"Negotiators managed to mediate a ceasefire."
- 2 act between parties with a view to reconciling differences wordnet
- 3 To intervene between conflicting parties in order to resolve differences or bring about a settlement. intransitive
""Nay," replied Charles, gravely, "this is carrying your anger too far. Allow me to mediate between you. I must entreat, nay, I command, the Lady Francesca's presence.""
- 4 occupy an intermediate or middle position or form a connecting link or stage between two others wordnet
- 5 To divide into two equal parts.
"Then, Meaſuring Land, by vvalking over it, they ſtyled a Double-ſtep (i.e. the Space from the elevation of one Foot, to the ſame Foot ſet dovvn again, mediated by a ſtep of the other Foot) a Pace, equal to 5 Foot; a Thouſand of vvhich Paces made a Mile, vvhich is a Meaſure ſerving for any diſtance on Earth, and even for the Height of the Sphears."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 To act as an intermediary causal or communicative agent; to convey.
"He had some advantage in the difference of our weapons; for his sword, as I recollect, was longer than mine, […] His obvious malignity of purpose never for a moment threw him off his guard, and he exhausted every feint and strategem proper to the science of defence; while, at the same time, he mediated the most desperate catastrophe to our rencounter."
- 7 To act as a spiritualistic medium.
- 8 To communicate via media; to frame; to provide a cultural narrative about.
Adjective
- 1 Acting through a mediating agency, indirect.
"The Leibnitzio-Wolfians distinguish three acts in the process of representative cognition: — 1° the act of representing a (mediate) object to the mind; 2° the representation, or, to speak more properly, representamen, itself as an (immediate or vicarious) object exhibited to the mind; 3° the act by which the mind is conscious, immediately of the representative object, and, through it, mediately of the remote object represented."
- 2 Intermediate between extremes.
"soon the mediate clouds shall be dispell'd"
- 3 Gained or effected by a medium or condition.
"mediate positive proof"
Adjective
- 1 acting through or dependent on an intervening agency wordnet
- 2 being neither at the beginning nor at the end in a series wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Interpreters mediate between different cultures."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mediate"?
Common synonyms include: arbitrate, accommodate, act between, act for, adjust, advance.
How do you use "mediate" in a sentence?
Interpreters mediate between different cultures.
How do you pronounce "mediate"?
Pronounced /ˈmidieɪt/.
Etymology
The adjective is first attested in the 1440's in Middle English, the verb in 1538; from Middle English mediat(e) (“intermediate; intercessory”), borrowed from Late Latin mediātus, perfect passive participle of mediō (“to divide in the middle; (in Medieval Latin) to be in the middle, be or become between, mediate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from medius (“middle”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix).