mediate
/'mi:diit/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Verb:
- To intervene between parties in a dispute to bring about an agreement or reconciliation: This is the primary meaning, referring to the act of acting as a neutral third party to help resolve a conflict.
- To occupy an intermediate position or serve as a connecting link: This meaning describes something that exists or functions between two other things, forming a connection or transitional stage.
Adjective:
- Connected indirectly; acting through an intervening agency: Describes something that is not direct but involves a go-between or intermediate step.
- Being in a middle position in a series: Describes something situated between a beginning and an end.
Usage Examples
Verb:
- The United Nations agreed to mediate the peace talks. (The UN agreed to act as a neutral party to facilitate the talks.)
- A neutral third party was called in to mediate the labor dispute. (An impartial person was brought in to help settle the argument.)
- This enzyme mediates the chemical reaction. (This enzyme acts as an intermediate agent that enables the reaction to occur.)
Adjective:
- The disease can spread through mediate contact, such as touching a contaminated surface. (The disease can spread indirectly, not just from person to person.)
- He held a mediate position in the company hierarchy. (His position was in the middle, not at the top or the bottom.)
Advanced Usage
"to mediate between": To act as an intermediary or peacemaker between two or more conflicting parties.
- She was skilled at mediating between her arguing friends. (She was good at helping her friends resolve their arguments.)
In philosophy or logic, mediate can describe knowledge or inference that is obtained through an intermediate reasoning step, as opposed to direct observation.
Variants and Related Words
Mediation (n): The process of mediating or the intervention itself.
- The contract was settled through mediation. (The contract was resolved with the help of a neutral third party.)
Mediator (n): A person who mediates.
- The lawyer acted as a mediator. (The lawyer served as the neutral party facilitating the agreement.)
Immediate (adj): The direct opposite, meaning with nothing coming in between; direct.
- He was in immediate danger. (He was in direct danger, with no buffer.)
Synonyms
- Intercede: To intervene on behalf of another (often implies pleading).
- Arbitrate: To settle a dispute with the authority to make a binding decision.
- Intervene: To come between disputing people or groups.
- Liaise: To act as a link to assist communication (less focused on conflict).
Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions
- Mediate in: To act as a mediator within a specific situation or dispute.
- The ambassador offered to mediate in the crisis. (The ambassador offered to help resolve the crisis.)
Related Idioms
- To act as a go-between: A more informal phrase meaning to carry messages or mediate between people who are not communicating directly. This captures the essence of the verb "mediate."
- Since they weren't speaking, I had to act as a go-between. (I had to pass messages between them to help them communicate.)
Adjective
- being neither at the beginning nor at the end in a series
- adolescence is an awkward in-between age
- in a mediate position
- the middle point on a line
- acting through or dependent on an intervening agency
- the disease spread by mediate as well as direct contact
Verb
- occupy an intermediate or middle position or form a connecting link or stage between two others
- mediate between the old and the new
- act between parties with a view to reconciling differences
- He interceded in the family dispute
- He mediated a settlement