modulate

American  

[moj-uh-layt] / ˈmɒdʒ əˌleɪt /

verb (used with object)

• modulates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• modulated,
  past participle,  past
• modulating
  present participle

1. to regulate by or adjust to a certain measure or proportion; soften; tone down.

2. to alter or adapt (the voice) according to the circumstances, one's listener, etc.

   Synonyms:

   control, temper

3. Music.

   1. to attune to a certain pitch or key.

   2. to vary the volume of (tone).

4. Telecommunications. to cause the amplitude, frequency, phase, or intensity of (a carrier wave) to vary in accordance with a sound wave or other signal, the frequency of the signal wave usually being very much lower than that of the carrier.

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verb (used without object)

• modulates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• modulated,
  past participle,  past
• modulating
  present participle

1. Telecommunications.

   1. to modulate a carrier wave.

   2. Citizens Band Radio Slang. to talk; visit.

      Enjoyed modulating with you.

2. Music. to pass from one key to another.

   to modulate abruptly from A to B flat.

modulate British  

/ ˈmɒdjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to change the tone, pitch, or volume of

2. (tr) to adjust or regulate the degree of

3. music

   1. to subject to or undergo modulation in music

   2. (often foll by to) to make or become in tune (with a pitch, key, etc)

4. (tr) physics electronics to cause to vary by a process of modulation

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modulate Scientific  

/ mŏj′ə-lāt′ /

1. To vary the amplitude, frequency, or some other characteristic of a signal or power source.

2. See also amplitude modulation frequency modulation

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• modulability
  noun
• modulator
  noun
• remodulate
  verb (used with object)
• modulative
  adjective
• modulatory
  adjective
• unmodulated
  adjective
• unmodulative
  adjective
• well-modulated
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• modulating
  present
• modulated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• modulate
  simple
• modulates
  simple
• have modulated
  perfect
• has modulated
  perfect
• am modulating
  progressive
• are modulating
  progressive
• is modulating
  progressive
• have been modulating
  perfect progressive
• has been modulating
  perfect progressive

Past

• modulated
  simple
• had modulated
  perfect
• was modulating
  progressive
• were modulating
  progressive
• had been modulating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will modulate
  simple
• will have modulated
  perfect
• will be modulating
  progressive
• will have been modulating
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of modulate

1550–60; < Latin modulātus (past participle of modulārī to regulate (sounds), set to music, play an instrument). See module, -ate ¹

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Explanation

Is your friend's voice so high-pitched that people are starting to stare? Sweetly ask, "Can you modulate your voice, please? To modulate is to change the pitch of something. You can modulate things other than sound — it still refers to something that's being adjusted. Schools might modulate the number of students in the hallways at the same time by having each grade level start and end each at a different time. Traffic lights can modulate the number of cars that pass through an intersection in a certain interval. Computer modems modulate signals to allow computers to transfer information. In fact, modem gets its name from modulate/demodulate.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

modulate modulates modulated modulating

Zips were used to modulate the length of skirts, they ran across leather jackets and down a flared blue pair of trousers.

From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026

"The idea is, can we use food-based interventions to modulate inflammation?" said lead author Jessica Cooperstone, associate professor of horticulture and crop science at The Ohio State University.

From Science Daily ● May 30, 2026

Other advantages include no launching device, the ability to modulate the beam's intensity, and unlimited "ammunition."

From Barron's ● Mar. 16, 2026

Olsen: How have you come to learn that distinction and how to modulate your performance, like knowing what you can do for a camera versus what you’re doing for the audience?

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025

I had almost forgotten that humans can modulate their voices to express the emotion they are feeling.

From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga

Incyte said the acquisition includes Vega’s lead candidate VGA039, which modulates Protein S to improve hemostasis, potentially improving the body’s ability to control bleeding in numerous bleeding disorders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026

Oppenheimer modulates the lighting during the scenes from cool to warm and back again, underlining the vacillating feelings they can’t acknowledge outright.

From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2024

The CD300f receptor is a protein expressed by immune system cells that modulates cell metabolism and inflammation.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 28, 2023

And if “Killers” miscalibrates its balance of perspectives, it also discovers, in the luminous recesses of Gladstone’s performance, a quality of contemplation that beautifully suffuses and modulates Scorsese’s faster, more frenetic rhythms.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2023

It is a question whether Leo Ornstein modulates.

From The Merry-Go-Round by Carl Van Vechten

Aeva’s lidar is a little different from others, using “frequency modulated continuous wave” technology, which means it’s more immune to glare and sunlight and easier to use to calculate the velocity of objects.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

Most political and foreign-policy actions can be modulated, corrected or refined over time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2025

Wodehouse never exhausted the counterpoint between Bertie’s slangy gibbering and half-remembered literary allusions with Jeeves’ carefully modulated responses: “Very well, Jeeves, you agree with me that the situation is a lulu?”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 18, 2025

It was a carefully modulated message in an area in which she has a double-digit advantage over Trump.

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2024

Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr.

From "The Lightning Thief" by Rick Riordan

Everyone is kind of modulating their behavior based on how they are appearing out of body.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

They added, "Preoperative vitamin D supplementation in breast cancer patients with vitamin D levels below 30 nmol/L may have a role in modulating postoperative pain."

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2026

I support having some way of modulating that asymmetry, such as through rent stabilization.

From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026

The facilities will operate as what the companies on Monday called flexible energy assets, supporting power grids by modulating consumption and leveraging on-site generation and storage.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 23, 2026

He had been dancing about the stage, waving his spear, modulating his voice, and now suddenly he became still, and lowered his voice.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

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