v. me·di·at·ed, me·di·at·ing, me·di·ates v.tr. 1. To resolve or settle (differences) by working with all the conflicting parties: mediate a labor-management dispute. 2. To bring about (a settlement, for example) by working with all the conflicting parties. 3. a. To effect or convey as an intermediate agent or mechanism: chemicals that mediate inflammation. b. Physics To convey (a force) between subatomic particles. v.intr. 1. To work with two or more disputants in order to bring about an agreement, settlement, or compromise. 2. To settle or reconcile differences: "[George] Eliot's effort to mediate between the conflicting demands of representation and readability in the [novel's] dialect usage" (Carol A. Martin). 3. To have a relation to two differing persons, groups, or things: psychological processes that mediate between stimulus and response. adj. (-ĭt) 1. Acting through, involving, or dependent on an intervening agency. 2. Being in a middle position. [Late Latin mediāre, mediāt-, to be in the middle, from Latin medius, middle; see medhyo- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] medi·ate·ly (-ĭt-lē) adv. me′di·ation (-āshən) n. medi·a′tive, medi·a·to′ry (mēdē-ə-tôr′ē) adj. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.