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:
After they failed to moderate this summer, the central bank’s voting members unanimously backed today’s quarter-point increase, which sent rates into the 3.75–4 percent range.
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2026
Instead, the findings indicate that in people who are genetically susceptible, even moderate amounts of oxalate may contribute to inflammation of the intestinal lining.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 13, 2026
Last year, Cerimedo was a key player in the election of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz, the center-right, U.S.-educated son of a former president who transitioned from Marxist firebrand to moderate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
The central bank left rates unchanged for a ninth consecutive quarter in June, saying it expected inflationary pressure to remain moderate and economic growth to stay robust.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Students can have mild, moderate, or severe symptoms and can be found in both general education and special education classes.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
The same poll found 51% of registered voters in Texas preferred Talarico, as did 63% of moderates.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 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
But any nominee will have to unite Platner's wounded supporters with moderates, independents and women voters wary of a party that just watched its chosen candidate implode.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
In their time, Great Society Democrats united conservatives and moderates in their party as well as moderate Republicans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 8, 2026
The prospect of a united front between Africans and Indians, between moderates and radicals, greatly worried them.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
“The inflation pressures among services remain intense and disseminated,” as services inflation moderated to 5.47% in August from 5.85% in July, Goldman Sachs’s Latin America economist Alberto Ramos said in a note.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
September’s hour-long debate, taking place shortly before county elections officials begin mailing ballots to all the state’s registered voters, will be moderated by the cable network’s anchors Dana Bash and Jake Tapper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
It is the most attention a California gubernatorial contest has drawn since 2010, when “Today” show host Matt Lauer and NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd moderated nationally televised clashes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
His appearance was moderated by US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who called Huang an "American treasure."
From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026
Caesar was one of those who wanted to gain the principality of Rome; but if he had survived and had not moderated his expenditures after doing so, he would have destroyed the power he acquired.
From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli
In a second, shorter ad, Sweeney addresses the very different topic of moderating one’s sports prediction activity without dropping her provocative tone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Welker is an award-winning journalist who earned bipartisan praise after moderating a 2020 presidential debate featuring Trump and Joe Biden, the Democrat who won that year's election.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
The man has achieved significant political capital without moderating anything he stands for.
From Slate ● Aug. 7, 2026
Candidates could consider moderating their message to attract orphaned voters, though that can be perilous.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026
Nye is a short, short- tempered man who has difficulty moderating his aggressive vigor, his talent for language both sharp and outspoken.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
