diplomat

[dip-luh-mat]

noun

1. a person appointed by a national government to conduct official negotiations and maintain political, economic, and social relations with another country or countries.

2. a person who is tactful and skillful in managing delicate situations, handling people, etc.

diplomat

/ ˈdɪpləˌmæt /

noun

1. an official, such as an ambassador or first secretary, engaged in diplomacy

2. a person who deals with people tactfully or skilfully

Word History and Origins

Origin of diplomat¹

First recorded in 1805–15; from French diplomate, back formation from diplomatique diplomatic

Example Sentences

“I think everybody just wanted to be done with this,” said Michael Ratney, a former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia and top diplomat in Israel.

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Three Qatari diplomats were killed and two injured in a car crash on Sunday near the Egyptian town of Sharm el-Sheikh, according to the Gulf state's embassy.

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Emily Abraham, a career diplomat who has had posts in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and the Dominican Republic, had been laid off over the summer but was meant to receive paychecks until November.

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My son and my husband each murmur happy greetings in response, assuming I was talking to them—and Thomas, ever the diplomat, says nothing to correct the record.

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He turned upside-down the traditional playbook for solving international crises, in which diplomats work behind the scenes to iron out differences between warring parties, before world leaders swoop in and announce a deal.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agent 
• envoy 
• expert 
• mediator 
• minister 
• negotiator www.thesaurus.com
• representative