English Reference
Verb

mediate

v.
C1 Advanced US /ˈmidiˌeɪt/ UK /mˈiːdɪˌeɪt/ me·di·ate UK spelling mediated, mediates, mediating

v.to help two people or groups reach an agreement when they are having a disagreement. You act as a middle person to find a solution that works for everyone.

v.to intervene between parties in a dispute in order to produce an agreement or reconciliation. Often describes the process of facilitating communication to resolve a conflict without formal legal action.


SIMPLE

A professional was hired to mediate the contract dispute.

CONTEXTUAL

The human resources manager had to mediate between the two employees to resolve their long-standing office conflict.

COMPLEX

International diplomats were called in to mediate the peace talks, aiming to establish a ceasefire that both nations could accept without losing political face.

Usage

The verb is often used with 'between' when referring to the parties involved, or as a transitive verb with the dispute as the object.

Pitfall
He mediated for the two sides.He mediated between the two sides.

When describing the parties in a conflict, 'mediate' typically takes the preposition 'between' rather than 'for'.

Usage mediate by · mediate relation

Sources in Mali have told Al Jazeera that Algeria has been helping to mediate over the release of its soldiers.

Al Jazeera· 29 Aug 2026

Kushner was one of a trio of envoys meeting with al-Hayya, with officials from mediating countries Egypt, Qatar and Turkey also there.

The Guardian· 16 Aug 2026

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).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin la-lat mediātus
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated