mediated
Americanadjective
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(of disputes, strikes, etc.) settled or resolved with the help of an intermediary.
In the 15 years in which he has served as a mediator, he has settled over 90% of his mediated disputes.
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(of an agreement, truce, settlement, etc.) brought about with the help of an intermediary between parties.
A mediated divorce is much cheaper than negotiating through lawyers or going to court.
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indirectly experienced, effected, or conveyed; happening by means of or through someone or something else.
I see technology as any mediated form of communication, rather than face-to-face communication.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mediated
Explanation
When you argue with your friend and your disagreement is mediated, that means a neutral person has stepped in to help the two of you negotiate or come to an agreement. Two kids fighting on a playground might need their dispute to be mediated by a calm grownup. Unfortunately, many of the fights that need to be mediated are between leaders of countries or feuding groups of fully grown adults. The Latin root of mediated is medius, or "middle," which makes a lot of sense when you imagine a referee standing in the middle of two angry soccer teams.
Vocabulary lists containing mediated
medi, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The SEC has long mediated shareholder proposals, weighing in on whether they should be voted on at corporate annual meetings.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Despite a return to hostilities, mediated talks between the two sides have not formally ended.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
During the fourth decade of warming, they observed that stable portions of soil organic matter, once believed to resist warming mediated decomposition, also began to break down.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
We’re seeing the first celebrity wedding that’s mediated almost entirely through misinformation.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
There was a lodge director, a kindly man who had a room within the building, and who mediated the infrequent disputes among the boys.
From "Son" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
