Mediate Meaning
/ˈmidieɪt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo resolve differences, or to bring about a settlement, between conflicting parties.
verbTo intervene between conflicting parties in order to resolve differences or bring about a settlement.
Sentence Examples
Interpreters mediate between different cultures.
He always tends to mediate in arguments between friends.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
CEFR Practice Quiz
The neutral third party was asked to ____ between the two arguing neighbors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A neutral third party was brought in to ____ the dispute between the two opposing political factions.
Word Origin & History
The adjective is first attested in the 1440s 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).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""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.""
— 1834, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XLII, in Francesca Carrara. […], volume III, London: Richard Bentley, […], (successor to Henry Colburn), →OCLC, page 352:
"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."
— 1694, William Holder, “Of Measure in General. § More Particularly of Time; and Difficulties Concerning It.”, in A Discourse Concerning Time, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall, for L[uke] Meredith, […], →OCLC, page 6:
"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."
— 1817 December 31 (indicated as 1818), [Walter Scott], chapter XII, in Rob Roy. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co. […]; London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, →OCLC, pages 251–252:
"[A]s much as language in our modern technological world is mediated through the written word, quantitatively spoken language still reigns supreme."
— 2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 8:
"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."
— 1861, Sir William Hamilton, The Metaphysics of Sir William Hamilton, page 318:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The neutral third party was asked to ____ between the two arguing neighbors.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A neutral third party was brought in to ____ the dispute between the two opposing political factions.