moderate

adjective

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mod·er·ate | \ ˈmä-d(ə-)rət

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

mod·er·ate | \ ˈmä-də-ˌrāt

moderated; moderating

Definition of moderate (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

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

intransitive verb

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

mod·er·ate | \ ˈmä-d(ə-)rət

Definition of moderate (Entry 3 of 3)

: one who holds moderate views or who belongs to a group favoring a moderate course or program

Other Words from moderate Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about moderate

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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 What’s more, the company launched the Capital One Impact Initiative—a $200 million multi-year commitment to spur economic growth in low- and moderate-income communities and close gaps in equity and opportunity. — Claire Hastwell, Fortune, "Proud to work here: Meet the Best Workplaces shaking the stigma of finance," 25 Mar. 2021 Renters can now apply to receive up to a year’s worth of housing assistance after the state launched its online application for $353 million worth of grants for low- and moderate-income households behind on payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic. — From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, "Underground proms, popcorn problems, lobster relief: News from around our 50 states," 25 Mar. 2021 The initial target for the project is 50% affordable housing - between 262 to 288 units for low- to moderate-income residents - but the agency has a strong preference for a plan that could get to 100%. — Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, "S.F. to advance plan to build more than 500 homes on renovated Muni bus yard in the Mission," 16 Mar. 2021 The state has already spent $7.6 billion of that via a state stimulus package that will, among other things, send $600 payments to millions of low- to moderate-income Californians. — Adam Beam, Star Tribune, "California could get $150B from federal virus relief bill," 11 Mar. 2021 That includes signing a $7.6 billion stimulus package that will send $600 payments to many low-to moderate-income Californians on top of the $1,400 relief checks Congress is poised to approve. — NBC News, "California Gov. Newsom delivers State of the State address amid recall battle," 10 Mar. 2021 The AARP Foundation Tax-Aide program, for example, offers in-person and virtual tax assistance to anyone free of charge with a special focus on taxpayers who are over 50 or have low to moderate income. — Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, "Stimulus, tax scammers are crafting new ways to trick you: What to know," 10 Mar. 2021 If Congress, rather than the president, cancels student loans, progressives in Congress will need to deliver a student loan bill that moderate Democrats can support. — Zack Friedman, Forbes, "America Reacts To $1 Billion Of Student Loan Cancellation," 20 Mar. 2021 While every Republican except Maine Sen. Susan Collins voted against him, the effort never added up to enough pressure that moderate Democrats felt compelled to abandon him. — Eli Stokols Staff Writer, Los Angeles Times, "California’s Xavier Becerra confirmed as Health and Human Services secretary," 18 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb February 8, 2021—Scientist in South Africa say that the AstraZeneca vaccine seems to be ineffective at preventing mild to moderate COVID-19 among those infected with the B.1.351 variant that first emerged in that country. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, "A complete timeline of what’s going on with the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine," 1 Apr. 2021 Out of the trial’s 750 vaccine recipients, 19 (2.5%) developed mild to moderate COVID-19 more than 14 days after the second dose, compared with 23 of 717 placebo recipients (3.2%). — William A. Haseltine, Forbes, "AstraZeneca Vaccine Fails To Protect Against The South African Variant, Says Study," 17 Mar. 2021 The company has continued developing such solutions, pairing bamlanivimab with a different monoclonal antibody (etesevimab) to create a more powerful combo that’s effective at treating mild to moderate COVID-19. — Chris Smith, BGR, "This new drug combo can prevent COVID-19 deaths and severe cases," 10 Mar. 2021 Those were generally mild to moderate and more common in those ages 18 to 59 than to older participants in the trials. — al, "Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine: Safety, side effects, everything you need to know," 1 Mar. 2021 Housing economists forecast that home values will continue to rise in North Texas this year, but the rate of increase is expected to moderate from 2020 levels as more homes hit the market. — Steve Brown, Dallas News, "D-FW home prices are too high, analysts warn," 2 Feb. 2021 This created a perverse incentive for platforms not to moderate user content at all. — Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, "Trump to Congress: Repeal Section 230 or I’ll veto military funding," 2 Dec. 2020 The company also gave an outlook for its gain-on-sale margin, a determinant of revenue, to moderate from 5.19% in the second quarter to under 4.3% in the third. — Telis Demos, WSJ, "Is Rocket a Tech Stock or Boring Lender?," 3 Sep. 2020 The outpatient clinic provided infusions of the treatment for those with mild to moderate COVID-19 cases. — Alison Dirr, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "COVID-19 field hospital at State Fair Park in West Allis to close as hospitalizations drop, vaccinations rise," 20 Mar. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The vaccine also appeared to be 66% effective at preventing moderate-to-severe COVID-19 infections (and around 74% when just looking at U.S. data), according to the FDA analysis. — Sarah Jacoby, SELF, "Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 Vaccine Just Received FDA Emergency Authorization," 27 Feb. 2021 Last month, Johnson & Johnson noted that its single-dose Covid-19 shot was 66% effective in preventing moderate-to-severe cases of Covid-19 based on a large global trial, putting its overall efficacy below Moderna’s shot. — Trefis Team, Forbes, "Why Moderna Stock Is Down 25% Over The Last Month," 5 Mar. 2021 Despite the grilling, Garland, who is widely regarded as a pragmatic moderate, is expected to win bipartisan support for his confirmation. — Lissandra Villa, Time, "'I Am Not The President's Lawyer.' Merrick Garland Vows Independence As Attorney General," 23 Feb. 2021 Candidate Joe Biden appealed to voters as a deal-minded moderate and experienced Washington hand. — Katherine Doyle, Washington Examiner, "The radicals: Five firebrand Biden nominees and appointments," 15 Feb. 2021 His chief competition is California Representative Jim Costa, a fellow moderate who would at least be better than Peterson. — Charlie Mitchell, The New Republic, "Can Biden Keep His Promise to Make Farms Climate Friendly?," 16 Nov. 2020 Children up to 17 need at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous exercise each day, according to the new recommendations. — Kristen Rogers And Jacqueline Howard, CNN, "Here's the type and amount of exercise you need, WHO advises," 25 Nov. 2020 She's known as a political moderate and has not served in the military. — Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, "The women joining the Biden-Harris administration," 23 Nov. 2020 Still allowed are individual and small group training of four people or fewer, and individual moderate-to-low risk sports, also in groups or four of fewer. — Shawn Mcfarland, courant.com, "Connecticut announced a pause on club and team sports until Jan. 19; what does that mean?," 20 Nov. 2020

These 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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Last Updated

5 Apr 2021

Cite this Entry

“Moderate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moderate. Accessed 13 Apr. 2021.

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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

mod·er·ate | \ ˈmä-də-rət

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

mod·er·ate | \ ˈmä-də-ˌrāt

moderated; moderating

Kids Definition of moderate (Entry 2 of 2)

: to make or become less extreme or severe

moderate

adjective

mod·er·ate | \ ˈmäd-(ə-)rət

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

mod·er·ate | \ ˈmäd-ə-ˌrāt

moderated; moderating

Medical Definition of moderate (Entry 2 of 2)

: to reduce the speed or energy of (neutrons)