moderation

[mod-uh-rey-shuh n]

See more synonyms for moderation on Thesaurus.com

noun

the quality of being moderate; restraint; avoidance of extremes or excesses; temperance.
the act of moderating.
moderations, British. the first public examinations at Oxford University for the B.A. degree in mathematics or in classics.

Idioms

in moderation, without excess; moderately; temperately: to drink in moderation.

Origin of moderation

1375–1425; late Middle English moderacion < Latin moderātiōn- (stem of moderātiō). See moderate, -ion

Related formspro·mod·er·a·tion, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for moderation

restraint, fairness, calmness, patience, coolness, justness, measure, toleration, lenity, composure, justice, steadiness, sobriety, mildness, poise, equanimity, constraint, quiet, forbearance, sedateness

Examples from the Web for moderation

Contemporary Examples of moderation

This would, of course, require some moderation of regulatory standards, particularly in reference to climate change.
Legal but Still Poor: The Economic Consequences of Amnesty
Joel Kotkin
November 21, 2014
Thus it seems likely that instead of striking a new tone of moderation, the new GOP Congress will return to its old tricks.
GOP Senate Can't Resist a ‘War on Women’
Sally Kohn
November 11, 2014
“I have chosen a ‘middle-ground’ method of moderation, a sort of behind-the-scenes prodding,” he wrote in a posting.
You Can Look It Up: The Wikipedia Story
Walter Isaacson
October 19, 2014
Maybe the key, as with so many other foods, lies in consuming artificially sweetened goods in moderation.
Are Artificial Sweeteners Wrecking Your Diet?
DailyBurn
September 30, 2014
Given that Begich, Hagan, Landrieu and Pryor each hail from states that went for Mitt Romney, moderation is a matter of survival.
A GOP Senate? Why It Won't Come Easy
Lloyd Green
September 1, 2014

Historical Examples of moderation

But all the same, there had to be moderation and reason in everything.
The Foolish Lovers
St. John G. Ervine
A person who escapes the evils of moderation by committing dyspepsia.
The Devil's Dictionary
Ambrose Bierce
I wonder if Rube's first wife's mother has come from Moderation?
The Village Watch-Tower
(AKA Kate Douglas Riggs) Kate Douglas Wiggin
Lady St. Craye also thought it a useful thing—in moderation.
The Incomplete Amorist
E. Nesbit
Moderation is the languor and sloth of the soul, Ambition its activity and heat.
Reflections
Francois Duc De La Rochefoucauld

British Dictionary definitions for moderation

moderation

noun

the state or an instance of being moderate; mildness; balance
the act of moderating
in moderation within moderate or reasonable limits

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for moderation

early 15c., from Old French moderacion (14c.) "alteration, modification; mitigation, alleviation," from Latin moderationem (nominative moderatio) "a controlling, guidance, government, regulation; moderation, temperateness, self-control," noun of action from moderatus (see moderate (adj.)).