: to intervene between parties with a view to reconciling differences : mediate
intercedernoun
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The Latin cedere means "to go", so "go between" is the most literal meaning of intercede. (The same -cede root can also be seen in such words as precede and secede.) If you've been blamed unfairly for something, a friend may intercede on your behalf with your coach or teacher. More often, it will be the coach or teacher who has to intercede in a student dispute. The intercession of foreign governments has sometimes prevented conflicts from becoming worse than they otherwise would have.
intervene may imply an occurring in space or time between two things or a stepping in to stop a conflict.
quarreled until the manager intervened
mediate implies intervening between hostile factions.
mediated between the parties
intercede implies acting for an offender in begging mercy or forgiveness.
interceded on our behalf
Examples of intercede in a Sentence
Their argument probably would have become violent if I hadn't interceded.
When the boss accused her of lying, several other employees interceded on her behalf.
Recent Examples on the WebThese countries generally find ways to reject refugees unless a major geopolitical cause is at stake or diaspora communities intercede on their behalf.—Andrew Moravcsik, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019 What new poll found But in order for the Supreme Court to intercede, Trump’s case must first work its way through the New York state appeals process, which could take a considerable amount of time, legal experts said.—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 3 June 2024 This process is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and their capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their name.—Becca Longmire, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024 The approach requires no priest, no holy sacrament, no one to intercede with God on the person’s behalf.—Dan Horn, The Enquirer, 20 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for intercede
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'intercede.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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