Synonyms of arbiter

arbiter

noun

ˈär-bə-tər 

as in referee

a person who impartially decides or resolves a dispute or controversy

the dean of student affairs is the proper arbiter when a student disputes a grade

Synonyms & Similar Words

• referee
• judge
• umpire
• arbitrator
• negotiator
• moderator
• magistrate
• adjudicator
• mediator
• jurist
• intermediary
• justice
• conciliator
• peacemaker
• intermediate
• reconciler
• mediatrix
• decider
• troubleshooter
• go-between

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of arbiter

The move publicly challenges the accuracy of the state’s death determinations in an extraordinary move that breaks precedent that states are the arbiters of case and death determinations, not the CDC. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 1 Sep. 2026

After six months of war, the deadlock has left the Islamic Republic bitterly divided, while its ultimate arbiter, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, remains in hiding. — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026

Two of the arbiters accompanied Espada to the pitcher’s mound, where Brown handed Espada the baseball. — Chandler Rome, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026

For the next fifty years, insurance companies, not doctors, were the chief arbiters of corpulence. — Literary Hub, 17 Aug. 2026