moderate
Americanadjective
-
kept or keeping within reasonable or proper limits; not extreme, excessive, or intense.
a moderate price.
-
of medium quantity, extent, or amount.
a moderate income.
- Synonyms:
- average
-
mediocre or fair.
moderate talent.
-
calm or mild, as of the weather.
-
of or relating to moderates, as in politics or religion.
- Antonyms:
- radical
noun
-
moderates
plural
-
a person who is moderate in opinion or opposed to extreme views and actions, especially in politics or religion.
- Antonyms:
- radical
-
(usually initial capital letter) a member of a political party advocating moderate reform.
verb (used with object)
-
moderates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
moderated,
past participle, past
-
moderating
present participle
-
to reduce the excessiveness of; make less violent, severe, intense, or rigorous.
to moderate the sharpness of one's words.
-
to preside over or at (a public forum, meeting, discussion, etc.).
verb (used without object)
-
moderates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
moderated,
past participle, past
-
moderating
present participle
-
to become less violent, severe, intense, or rigorous.
-
to act as moderator; preside.
adjective
-
not extreme or excessive; within due or reasonable limits
moderate demands
-
not violent; mild or temperate
-
of average quality or extent
moderate success
noun
verb
-
to become or cause to become less extreme or violent
-
to preside over a meeting, discussion, etc
-
to act as an external moderator of the overall standards and marks for (some types of educational assessment)
-
physics to slow down (neutrons), esp by using a moderator
-
(tr) to monitor (the conversations in an on-line chatroom) for bad language, inappropriate content, etc
Synonym Usage
Moderate, temperate, judicious, reasonable all stress the avoidance of excess—emotional, physical, intellectual, or otherwise. Moderate implies response or behavior that is by nature not excessive: a moderate drinker, a moderate amount of assistance. Temperate, interchangeable with moderate in some general uses, usually stresses the idea of caution, control, or self-restraint: a surprisingly temperate response to the angry challenge. Judicious emphasizes prudence and the exercise of careful judgment: a judicious balance between freedom and restraint; judicious care to offend neither side. Reasonable suggests the imposition or adoption of limits derived from the application of reason or good sense: a reasonable price; a reasonable amount of damages allotted to each claimant. See allay.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
moderatesimple
-
moderatessimple
-
have moderatedperfect
-
has moderatedperfect
-
am moderatingprogressive
-
are moderatingprogressive
-
is moderatingprogressive
-
have been moderatingperfect progressive
-
has been moderatingperfect progressive
Past
-
moderatedsimple
-
had moderatedperfect
-
was moderatingprogressive
-
were moderatingprogressive
-
had been moderatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of moderate
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English moderate (adjective) moderaten (verb), from Latin moderātus (past participle of moderārī “to mitigate, restrain, control”), equivalent to moderā- verb stem ( see modest) + -tus past participle suffix
Explanation
A moderate voter is someone who is politically speaking, in the center. In other words, they are not quite left or right, but somewhere in the middle. Moderate comes from the Latin for "medium sized," and as a noun and an adjective it means "middle, medium." If you get moderate rainfall, it's not too much and not too little. Goldilocks was known for her moderate tastes. As a verb, it means "to temper," or "to reduce from the extreme." If you moderate your speed while driving, you slow down a bit. If you moderate a discussion, you help two or more people have a reasonable conversation.
Vocabulary lists containing moderate
Liberty, Equality, Vocabulary: The French Revolution
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"The Flight of Icarus," Vocabulary from the myth
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Thus, hydrodissection merits to be a minimally invasive option for mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome and can defer and even alleviate the need for surgery."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
It typically takes two widespread rounds of moderate to significant rains to achieve this effect, Shameson said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
"I think for a public figure that puts Jews' safety at great risk," he added, describing himself as socially moderate and religiously conservative in his expansive home nestled among vibrant fall foliage.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Citi expects 12X profit growth this year and moderate growth in 2027-2028 as gross margin normalizes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026
“Be moderate in your desires, Ophelia. Bridle your tongue, and lock up your chaste treasure,” Elnora warned.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
The same poll found 51% of registered voters in Texas preferred Talarico, as did 63% of moderates.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Then, in the race’s final weeks, two other moderates dropped out and Crowley revived his campaign with the sitting Democratic governor’s endorsement.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2026
Throughout the campaign, Stevens argued that El-Sayed would not be able to defeat Rogers, a refrain some moderates repeated Wednesday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
He moderates his earnings forecasts on some revenue slippage into future periods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
It was obvious that they regarded us, the Rivonia Trialists, as moderates.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Treasury yields were mostly lower as a downtick in oil prices moderated some inflation expectations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Client activity among the bank’s markets and investment-banking clients moderated during the quarter from the strong second quarter, Dimon said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
A moderated online forum could make challenges to contested papers part of the scientific record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Housing remains the largest contributor to inflation, although price growth in the category has moderated, while higher petrol prices and airfares drove the latest acceleration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Mother no longer moderated Dad’s statements after he left the room, no longer quietly gave her own opinion.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
Edmonds, of EVA England, says developments in electric vehicle design have made them better at moderating the acceleration so they don't gain speed as rapidly.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
For Chaudhuri, despite market expectations, the Fed should be holding rates, maintaining a level between 3.50% to 3.75% because inflation is actually moderating.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note hit a three-year high above 4.85 percent after the buyback announcement before moderating somewhat.
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
The man has achieved significant political capital without moderating anything he stands for.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Nuah is behind me, being Mr. Nice Guy and not passing me but moderating his pace.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
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