mediate vs puzzle

mediate

verb
  • To act as an intermediary causal or communicative agent; to convey. 

  • To divide into two equal parts. 

  • To intervene between conflicting parties in order to resolve differences or bring about a settlement. 

  • To resolve differences, or to bring about a settlement, between conflicting parties. 

  • To act as a spiritualistic medium. 

adj
  • Gained or effected by a medium or condition. 

  • Acting through a mediating agency, indirect. 

  • Intermediate between extremes. 

puzzle

verb
  • To perplex, confuse, or mystify; to cause (someone) to be faced with a mystery, without answers or an explanation. 

  • To think long and carefully, in bewilderment. 

  • To make intricate; to entangle. 

noun
  • Anything that is difficult to understand or make sense of. 

  • A riddle. 

  • The state of being puzzled; perplexity. 

  • A game for one or more people that is more or less difficult to work out or complete. 

  • A jigsaw puzzle. 

  • A crossword puzzle. 

How often have the words mediate and puzzle occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )