Meaning & use
negotiated
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“negotiated” is a form of “negotiate”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Reached or arranged through discussion and compromise between the people involved.
Grammar: Appears before a noun: a negotiated settlement, not 'a settlement negotiated' in this adjective use.
Patterns
- a negotiated settlement
- a negotiated price
Both sides accepted a negotiated settlement instead of going to court.
The negotiated price was lower than the original asking price.
A negotiated peace is often more stable than one forced on a loser.
verbtransitive or intransitive
Past tense and past participle of negotiate: discussed something with others until an agreement was reached.
Grammar: Takes an object (negotiated a deal) or none (they negotiated for hours).
Patterns
- negotiated something with someone
- negotiated with someone for something
The union negotiated a four-day week with the factory owners.
She negotiated with the landlord until he agreed to fix the heating.
We negotiated for hours before settling on a date.
Word forms
| base form | negotiate |
|---|---|
| third person singular | negotiates |
| -ing form | negotiating |
Common combinations
- negotiated settlement
- The dispute ended in a negotiated settlement.
- negotiated agreement
- A negotiated agreement guaranteed fair pay for drivers.
- negotiated price
- The negotiated price included delivery.
- hard-negotiated
- The hard-negotiated treaty took two years to finish.
- negotiated a deal
- Our agent negotiated a deal worth ten million.
Synonyms and how they differ
- agreed
- Agreed simply means both sides accept it, but negotiated stresses that discussion and compromise produced the result.
- bargained
- Bargained usually suggests haggling over price, while negotiated also covers formal talks like treaties.
- settled
- Settled means finally decided, without saying how the decision was reached.
- brokered
- Brokered means arranged with the help of a third party who mediated between the sides.
Opposites
Word family
- negotiate verb
- to discuss in order to reach agreement
- negotiation noun
- a formal discussion to reach agreement
- negotiator noun
- a person who conducts such talks
- negotiable adjective
- open to discussion or change
- non-negotiable adjective
- not open to discussion
Commonly confused: negotiated or negotiable?
negotiated vs negotiable
Negotiable means still open to discussion; negotiated means the discussion has already produced an agreement.
Practice
After months of talks, the two companies reached a ___ settlement.
Choose one answer.
We need a participle adjective meaning 'reached by talks'. Negotiable is tempting but means 'could still be discussed', not 'already agreed'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “negotiated”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.