peacemaker
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of peacemaker
late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; see origin at peace, maker
Explanation
A peacemaker is a person who helps others solve a conflict and reach a peaceful solution. Of course Gandhi was a famous peacemaker, but even the volunteer on playground patrol can act as a peacemaker too. An individual can be a peacemaker, and there are also organizations that work as peacemakers. If two countries are engaged in a long war, for example, peacemakers might help negotiate a truce. Diplomats and mediators are peacemakers, and if you help your angry sisters come to a peaceable agreement about whose turn it is to take out the trash, you're a peacemaker too.
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.
You can’t have peace if there is no peacemaker on the other side.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Now, with a round of talks concluded in Islamabad and frantic negotiations underway to secure a second go, Pakistan is basking in its new role as a regional peacemaker, analysts say.
From Barron's • Apr. 14, 2026
As the war in the Middle East enters its second month, choking the world's energy supply and sending oil prices soaring, China is trying to step in as a peacemaker.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
In reality, he was never a real peacemaker.
From Salon • Mar. 16, 2026
From beside Mamma, Papa, ever the peacemaker, was making a surreptitious please let it go face.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
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.
