# moderate

Pronunciation: say "MOD-uh-rut" US /ˈmɑdəɹət/, UK /ˈmɒdəɹət/

## Adjective

1. Not excessive in amount or degree; kept within reasonable limits or done in moderation.
   - Simple: Not too much or too extreme, staying at a sensible middle level.
   - _A moderate intake of caffeine is unlikely to cause problems._
   - _The committee recommended moderate spending increases over the next decade._
2. Not violent or rigorous; temperate, mild, or gentle in force or character.
   - Simple: Gentle or mild, not strong, rough, or extreme.
   - _The island enjoys a moderate climate year-round._
   - _His moderate manner helped calm the angry crowd._
5. Of an illness, symptom, or condition: intermediate in severity, more serious than mild but less serious than severe.
   - Simple: In the middle range of how serious an illness or injury is.
   - _Patients with moderate asthma may need daily medication._
   - _The scan showed moderate damage to the liver._
6. Holding a political position intermediate between liberal and conservative; centrist. *(US)*
   - Simple: Having political ideas in the middle, not strongly left or right.
   - _The senator built her career on moderate positions that appealed to swing voters._
   - _Moderate Republicans broke with their party on the immigration bill._
10. Of middling quality; neither impressive nor outright bad; mediocre.
   - Simple: Only average in quality and not very good.
   - _Critics judged the novel moderate at best, competent but uninspired._
   - _The hotel's food was moderate, filling but instantly forgettable._
11. Average in price; reasonably affordable, neither a bargain nor a luxury.
   - Simple: Costing about an average amount, not very cheap and not expensive.
   - _The restaurant offers excellent seafood at moderate prices._
   - _For a moderate fee, the museum offers guided tours every afternoon._

## Verb

Pronunciation: say "MOD-uh-rayt" US /ˈmɑdəɹeɪt/, UK /ˈmɒdəɹeɪt/

3. To reduce the excessiveness or intensity of something; to make something less extreme.
   - Simple: To make something less strong or less extreme.
   - _The senator moderated her rhetoric after the criticism._
   - _Ocean currents moderate temperatures along the coast._
4. To become less excessive or intense; to subside toward a milder level.
   - Simple: To become weaker, calmer, or less extreme.
   - _Inflation is expected to moderate over the coming year._
   - _The storm moderated overnight, leaving only light rain by morning._
8. To preside over a discussion, debate, or other proceeding, guiding it and keeping participants within the rules.
   - Simple: To lead a discussion or meeting and keep it fair.
   - _A veteran journalist will moderate the presidential debate._
   - _She moderated the panel with a light touch, letting the experts spar._
9. To act as a moderator; to help opposing sides move toward compromise.
   - Simple: To lead a discussion, or to help people who disagree reach an agreement.
   - _A retired judge agreed to moderate between the two unions._
   - _She moderated skillfully, drawing out the quieter voices during the forum._
12. To supply a nuclear reactor with a moderator, a substance that slows neutrons and so makes fission more likely.
   - Simple: To add a material to a nuclear reactor that slows down its particles.
   - _Heavy water moderates certain reactor designs while absorbing very few neutrons._
   - _Designers of the first pile chose graphite to moderate the assembly, since heavy water was scarce._

## Noun

7. A person whose position lies between extremes, especially in politics.
   - Simple: A person whose ideas are in the middle, not extreme on either side.
   - _The party's moderates pushed back against the more radical proposals._
   - _He governed as a moderate, frustrating activists on both flanks._
13. A member of the party dominant in the 18th-century Church of Scotland, lax in doctrine and discipline but intolerant of evangelicalism and popular rights.
   - Simple: A member of a group that led the Scottish church in the 1700s and was not strict about its rules.
   - _As a moderate, he preached polished sermons on virtue and avoided the fervor of the evangelical pulpit._
   - _The moderates controlled the General Assembly and forced unpopular ministers on unwilling congregations._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–2, 5–6, 10–11** — From Middle English moderat, borrowed from Latin moderātus, the participle of moderor ("to regulate, restrain, moderate"), which comes from modus ("measure"): the same root behind mode and modest.
**Meanings 7, 13** — Formed by turning the adjective 'moderate' into a noun, using the noun-forming suffix -ate (see Etymology 1).
**Meanings 3–4, 8–9, 12** — From Middle English moderaten ("to restrain, curb; to modify"), from moderate + the verb-forming suffix -en, borrowed from Latin moderātus (see Etymology 1).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/moderate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).