| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person who settles dispute |
| Synonyms: | adjudicator, arbiter, arbitrator, assessor, compromiser, inspector, judge, justice, mediator, moderator, negotiator, peacemaker, proprietor, ref, referee, settler, ump |
| Notes: | referee originally referred to a person appointed by the British Parliament to examine patent applications (1621) and was formed from English refer and -ee. The sense of 'an arbitrator or person to whom a dispute is referred' was first recorded in 1690; by 1840 the word acquired the further sense of 'the judge of play in games and sports.' Baseball, boxing, and cricket have umpires; basketball, hockey, rugby, and football have referees - and American football has both. |
| Main Entry: | arbiter |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person who settles dispute |
| Synonyms: | adjudicator, arbitrator, fixer, go-between, holdout, judge, maven, mediator, middleperson, moderator, referee, umpire |
| Notes: | an arbitrator is appointed; an arbiter has no such authority but his/her opinion is valued |
| Main Entry: | arbitrate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | achieve settlement |
| Synonyms: | adjudge, adjudicate, adjust, bring to terms, come to school, come to terms, conciliate, decide, determine, hammer out a deal, interpose, intervene, judge, make a deal, mediate, meet halfway, negotiate, parley, pass judgment, placate, play ball, reconcile, referee, settle, smooth, soothe, step in, straighten out, strike happy medium, trade off, umpire, work out a deal |
| Antonyms: | let ride |
| Main Entry: | arbitrator |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | settler of a dispute |
| Synonyms: | adjudicator, arbiter, fixer, go-between, holdout, judge, maven, mediator, middleperson, referee, umpire |
| Main Entry: | judge |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person who arbitrates |
| Synonyms: | adjudicator, appraiser, arbiter, assessor, authority, bench, chancellor, conciliator, court, critic, evaluator, expert, honor, inspector, intercessor, intermediary, interpreter, judiciary, justice, justice of peace, legal official, magister, magistrate, marshal, moderator, negotiator, ombudsman, peacemaker, reconciler, referee, umpire, warden |
| Main Entry: | judge |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make decision from evidence; deduce |
| Synonyms: | act on, adjudge, adjudicate, appraise, appreciate, approximate, arbitrate, arrive, ascertain, assess, check, collect, conclude, condemn, consider, criticize, decide, decree, deduct, derive, determine, discern, distinguish, doom, draw, esteem, estimate, evaluate, examine, find, gather, give a hearing, make, make out, mediate, pass sentence, place, pronounce sentence, put, rate, reckon, referee, resolve, review, rule, sentence, settle, sit, size up, suppose, test, try, umpire, value |
| Main Entry: | justice |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person who oversees court of law |
| Synonyms: | chancellor, court, judge, magistrate, umpire |
| Main Entry: | mediate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | try to bring to an agreement |
| Synonyms: | act as middle, arbitrate, bring to terms, conciliate, deal, go fifty-fifty, intercede, interfere, intermediate, interpose, intervene, make a deal, make peace, meet halfway, moderate, negotiate, propitiate, reconcile, referee, resolve, restore harmony, settle, step in, strike happy medium, trade off, umpire |
| Antonyms: | argue, contend, disagree, fight |
| Main Entry: | mediator |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person who negotiates agreement |
| Synonyms: | advocate, arbiter, arbitrator, broker, conciliator, fixer, go-between, interagent, interceder, intermediary, intermediator, judge, medium, middle person, moderator, negotiator, peacemaker, ref, referee, rent-a-judge, troubleshooter, umpire |
| Antonyms: | arguer, fighter |