Synonyms of middle-of-the-road

middle-of-the-road 1 of 2

adjective

ˈmi-dᵊl-əv-ṯẖə-ˈrōd 

as in moderate

avoiding major social change or extreme political ideas

a candidate with middle-of-the-road views on most hot-button issues

Synonyms & Similar Words

• moderate
• central
• traditional
• centrist
• orthodox
• conventional
• neutral
• reasonable
• rational
• sensible
• nonrevolutionary
• levelheaded

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• radical
• revolutionary
• conservative
• ultra
• excessive
• extremist
• liberal
• progressive
• reactionary
• leftist
• rightist
• subversive
• violent
• revolutionist
• exciting
• inflammatory
• provocative
• fanatic
• rabid
• incendiary
• provoking
• dissenting
• agitating
• rabble-rousing
• inciting
• fomenting
• instigating

middle of the road

2 of 2

phrase

as in middle

a middle point between extremes

I'm in the middle of the road on that issue.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• middle
• middle ground
• medium
• golden mean
• midpoint
• mean
• standard
• norm
• average
• median
• arithmetic mean
• par

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• maximum
• minimum
• utmost

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of middle-of-the-road

Adjective

While discouraging teams from being truly awful has merit, this structure would retain the incentive for middle-of-the-road teams to become worse. — Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 17 Apr. 2026

The Clippers are middle-of-the-road. — Zach Harper, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2026

Filtering takes 7 to 10 minutes for a 5-cup top reservoir, approximately middle-of-the-road as far as speed goes. — Matthew Korfhage, Wired News, 13 Apr. 2026

Flexible moderates, roughly 35% of the survey’s respondents, are a middle-of-the-road group without strong political or religious motivations. — George E. Mitchell, The Conversation, 3 Apr. 2026