• 2-minute read
• 18th August 2021

Word Choice: Meditation vs. Mediation

The words ‘meditation’ and ‘mediation’ look and sound similar, but they mean different things. To avoid mixing them up in your writing, follow our advice below.

Meditation (Contemplation)

The word ‘meditation’ is a noun that refers to the practice of focusing your attention on one thing. Meditation is done for spiritual or religious purposes or to achieve calmness and a clear mind:

His church practises meditation on Thursdays.

Daily meditation helps me to combat stress.

‘Meditation’ also means the act of engaging in deep contemplation or reflection: 

I spent the afternoon in quiet meditation.

Similarly, ‘meditation’ can also refer to written or spoken discourse that expresses contemplations or reflections on a subject:

Her new book is a meditation on the meaning of life.

In all cases, though, you spell this word ‘meditation’.

Mediation (Dispute Intervention)

‘Mediation’ is also a noun. This word refers to a method of intervention used to try to solve a dispute:

Sam and Anna are seeking mediation to help them through their divorce.

Susan offers a mediation service for employers and their employees.

Mediation always involves a third party that tries to help resolve a conflict. You will often see this word used in a legal context, although it can also be used more generally to refer to someone trying to end a disagreement.

Summary: Meditation or Mediation?

While these two words look and sound similar, they have different meanings:

• Meditation is the practice of focusing attention on one thing or engaging in deep contemplation and the product of this.
• Mediation is a process of intervention by a third party to settle a dispute.

It’s easy to mix up words that look and sound similar. If you’d like any help to check your document is error free, our expert editors can help. You can even try our services for free.