moderate
adjective
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Definition of moderate
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : avoiding extremes of behavior or expression : observing reasonable limits a moderate drinker
b : calm, temperate Though very much in favor of the measure, he expressed himself in moderate language.
2a : tending toward the mean or average amount or dimension a family of moderate income
b : having average or less than average quality : mediocre wrote moderate poetry to the end of his life —Carl Van Doren
3 : not violent, severe, or intense a moderate climate moderate winters cook over moderate heat
4 : professing or characterized by political or social beliefs that are not extreme had left-wing, moderate, and right-wing candidates vying for the nomination
5 : limited in scope or effect His new wealth had only a moderate effect on his way of life.
6 : not expensive : reasonable or low in price a moderate price for a new house
7 of a color : of medium lightness and medium chroma a moderate red
moderate
verb
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Definition of moderate (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : to lessen the intensity or extremeness of the sun moderated the chill
2 : to preside over or act as chairman of moderated the board of directors meeting moderated the debate
1 : to act as a moderator He moderated on a weekly panel show.
2 : to become less violent, severe, or intense the wind began to moderate
moderate
noun
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Definition of moderate (Entry 3 of 3)
: one who holds moderate views or who belongs to a group favoring a moderate course or program
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Other words from moderate
Adjective
Verb
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noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for moderate
Synonyms: Adjective
balmy, clement, equable, genial, gentle, mild, soft, temperate
Synonyms: Verb
abate, de-escalate, decline, decrease, die (away or down or out), diminish, drain (away), drop (off), dwindle, ease, ebb, fall, fall away, lessen, let up, lower, pall, phase down, ratchet (down) also rachet (down) , recede, relent, remit, shrink, subside, taper, taper off, wane
Synonyms: Noun
centrist, middle-of-the-roader
Antonyms: Adjective
harsh, inclement, intemperate, severe
Antonyms: Verb
accumulate, balloon, build, burgeon (also bourgeon), enlarge, escalate, expand, grow, increase, intensify, mount, mushroom, pick up, rise, snowball, soar, swell, wax
Antonyms: Noun
extremist, radical, revolutionary, revolutionist, ultraist
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Examples of moderate in a Sentence
Adjective
Her doctor recommended moderate exercise. There were moderate levels of chemicals in the lake. drinking moderate amounts of coffee Most of these medicines relieve mild to moderate pain. a family of moderate income a book of moderate length The group met with only moderate success. a writer of moderate talent The hotel offers comfortable rooms at moderate prices. Both moderate Democrats and moderate Republicans can agree on this new law.Verb
The protesters have been unwilling to moderate their demands. She moderates at our office meetings. She moderates our discussions so that we don't argue or talk at the same time.Noun
Moderates from both political parties have agreed on an economic plan. to the community's detriment, moderates were often shouted down at town meetings by the local hotheads
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
In each of them, a moderate GOP governor who was elected in 2010 – Rick Snyder, Kasich and Brian Sandoval – opted to expand Medicaid over the opposition of their right flank. — James Hohmann, Washington Post, "The Daily 202: GOP candidates caught in a bind on Medicaid," 13 July 2018 People with vestibular migraines usually meet the following criteria, as outlined in the ICHD: At least five moderate or severe vertigo episodes lasting five minutes to 72 hours. — Korin Miller, SELF, "How to Tell if Vestibular Migraines Are Why You Get Dizzy So Often," 12 July 2018 Justice Kennedy’s recent opinions on immigrants’ rights and presidential power also contradict his moderate reputation. — Martha F. Davis, Fortune, "Why Brett Kavanaugh Is a Huge Threat to Minority Rights," 10 July 2018 Therefore, a moderate trade war will lower U.S. economic growth below its potential but is unlikely to drive the economy into a broad recession. — Phillip Molnar, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Can the U.S. economy withstand a trade war?," 13 July 2018 This difference generally makes the temperature of coastal climates more moderate than those inland. — Science Buddies, Scientific American, "Warm in the Sun," 12 July 2018 That move was seen as a way to pressure two moderate GOP women, Sens. — latimes.com, "Democrats hope Obamacare fears will derail Kavanaugh as White House moves to soften his image," 11 July 2018 In addition to those structures, there were 79 with moderate damage and 120 with minor to no damage. — CBS News, "Newborn baby killed, dozens injured when tornado strikes North Dakota city," 11 July 2018 In Yilan county's Pacific coast village of Yingshi, 274 villagers left their homes amid moderate rainfall, according to Chiu Cheng-hung of the central government's disaster response center. — Fox News, "Taiwan orders evacuations as season's 1st typhoon approaches," 10 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Venus Williams said on a panel on community violence moderated by ESPN’s Jemele Hill last December. — Ellen Mcgirt, Fortune, "raceAhead: Serena Williams's First Wimbledon as a New Mother," 9 July 2018 The State Department urged the Nicaraguan government on Thursday to resume peaceful negotiations with the opposition, moderated by Nicaragua’s Catholic bishops. — Catie Edmondson, New York Times, "U.S. Imposes Sanctions on 3 Top Nicaraguan Officials After Violent Crackdown," 5 July 2018 Jim Peterson, the vice president of the Swampscot Democratic Town Committee, who moderated the June event, agreed that it was originally billed as a forum. — Milton J. Valencia, BostonGlobe.com, "Was that really a debate? Zakim and Galvin spar over whether they’ve sparred," 12 July 2018 Fox 32’s Mike Flannery will moderate the ticketed debate at the Chicago Athletic Association. — Erin Hegarty, Naperville Sun, "Roskam, Casten clash on public unions, travel ban in first debate," 7 July 2018 The Enterprise Center’s Tiffany Spaggins-Payne will moderate. — Michael Klein, Philly.com, "Black Restaurant Week launches in Philadelphia," 7 June 2018 Debbie Look, a senior consultant for the Assembly Committee on Education, will moderate a panel with UC Santa Barbara Professor Michael Furlong, UC Davis Professor Amy Barnhorst and Tom Herman of the California Department of Education. — Alexei Koseff, sacbee, "Gas tax repeal threats drive Jerry Brown to the aid of vulnerable Democrats," 30 May 2018 Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers will moderate the forum that will feature a traditional question-and-answer debate format. — Mike Ward, Houston Chronicle, "Dem gubernatorial debate details set," 8 May 2018 Then temperatures will moderate to the upper 70s and low 80s. — Gary Robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "San Diego can expect mild weather during the coming work week," 6 May 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Republicans also must win the votes of two of their own moderates. — Louise Radnofsky, WSJ, "Senate’s First Skirmish Over Supreme Court Pick Brett Kavanaugh: How Quickly to Move," 11 July 2018 Here are a few ideas floating around: 1) Pressure Republican moderates to block Trump’s nominee. — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, "How can Trump’s Supreme Court apocalypse be stopped?," 27 June 2018 Top Republicans have wanted to hold the votes, win or lose, partly to defuse an effort by GOP moderates to force the chamber to vote on liberal-leaning bills helping immigrants win citizenship. — Alan Fram, chicagotribune.com, "GOP leaders eye new bill on family separations at border," 25 June 2018 The bill was written by House conservatives and moderates with input from the White House. — Jennie Neufeld, Vox, "Vox Sentences: Republicans’ “compromise” immigration bill makes little compromise," 16 June 2018 Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin., takes questions from reporters following a closed-door GOP meeting on immigration without reaching an agreement between conservatives and moderates, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 7, 2018. — Howard Cohen, miamiherald, "President Trump 'certainly won't sign' immigration compromise bill, he said Friday," 15 June 2018 That had been one of the measures the GOP moderates had hoped to bring up for a vote, along with a more generous Dreamer legislation favored by Democrats. — Kevin Diaz, San Antonio Express-News, "Moderate Republicans fail in bid to protect Dreamers," 13 June 2018 Party faithful say this election may determine which faction of Republicans — conservatives or moderates — will guide the party. — Anna M. Tinsley, star-telegram, "Texas Republicans: Some want to nix red light cameras, property taxes, even officials," 11 June 2018 The impact of their absence isn’t so much that majority Democrats lose a key Senate vote and an occasional vote from a GOP moderate. — Michael Smolens, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Why the election makes it tougher for Democrats to govern in Sacramento," 8 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'moderate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for moderate
moderate
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of moderate
(Entry 1 of 3)
: average in size or amount : neither too much nor too little
: neither very good nor very bad
: not expensive : not too high in price
moderate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of moderate (Entry 2 of 3)
: to make (something) less harsh, strong, or severe or to become less harsh, strong, or severe
: to guide a discussion or direct a meeting that involves a group of people
moderate
noun
English Language Learners Definition of moderate (Entry 3 of 3)
: a person whose political ideas are not extreme : a person who has moderate opinions or is a member of a moderate political group
See the full definition for moderate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
moderate
adjective
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Kids Definition of moderate
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : neither too much nor too little moderate heat
2 : neither very good nor very bad moderate success
3 : not expensive : reasonable moderate rates
4 : not extreme or excessive a moderate point of view a moderate eater
moderate
verb
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Kids Definition of moderate (Entry 2 of 2)
: to make or become less extreme or severe
moderate
adjective
\
Medical Definition of moderate
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : avoiding extremes of behavior : observing reasonable limits a moderate drinker
2 : not severe in effect or degree moderate alcohol consumption the abdomen was mildly distended with moderate tenderness —Timothy Melester et al moderate developmental disabilities
moderate
transitive verb
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Medical Definition of moderate (Entry 2 of 2)
: to reduce the speed or energy of (neutrons)
Other words from moderate
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noun
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