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definitions

modulate

[moj-uh-leyt]
verb (used with object), mod·u·lat·ed, mod·u·lat·ing.
  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.
  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.
verb (used without object), mod·u·lat·ed, mod·u·lat·ing.
  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.

Origin of modulate

1550–60; < Latin modulātus (past participle of modulārī to regulate (sounds), set to music, play an instrument). See module, -ate1
Related formsmod·u·la·bil·i·ty [moj-uh-luh-bil-i-tee] /ˌmɒdʒ ə ləˈbɪl ɪ ti/, nounmod·u·la·tive, mod·u·la·to·ry [moj-uh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] /ˈmɒdʒ ə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjectivere·mod·u·late, verb (used with object), re·mod·u·lat·ed, re·mod·u·lat·ing.un·mod·u·lat·ed, adjectiveun·mod·u·la·tive, adjectivewell-mod·u·lat·ed, adjective

Synonyms for modulate

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

Related Words for modulating

inflect, balance, tone, tweak, fine-tune, vary, revamp, switch, restrain, transmogrify, attune, regulate, temper, tune

Examples from the Web for modulating

Contemporary Examples of modulating

Historical Examples of modulating

  • "You will find two hundred dollars there," he adds, modulating his voice.

    An Outcast

    F. Colburn Adams

  • And I too, I have loved and have haunted the roofs, modulating the while the roll of my bass.

    A Tour Through The Pyrenees

    Hippolyte Adolphe Taine

  • This test is made by modulating the voice, reducing it to a whisper.

    The Montessori Method

    Maria Montessori

  • She leaned a little toward him, modulating her voice for his ear alone.

    The Salamander

    Owen Johnson

  • Then modulating his voice in unison Kiau Sun began to chant.

British Dictionary definitions for modulating

modulate

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
Derived Formsmodulability (ˌmɒdjʊləˈbɪlɪtɪ), nounmodulative or modulatory, adjectivemodulator, noun

Word Origin for modulate

C16: from Latin modulātus in due measure, melodious, from modulārī to regulate, from modus measure
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 modulating

modulate

v.

1610s, in music, back-formation from modulation, or else from Latin modulatus, past participle of modulari. General sense from 1620s. In telecommunications from 1908. Related: Modulated; modulating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
modulating in Science

modulate

[mŏj′ə-lāt′]
  1. To vary the amplitude, frequency, or some other characteristic of a signal or power source. See also amplitude modulation frequency modulation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.