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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
middle of the road
2 of 2phrase
as in middle
a middle point between extremes
I'm in the middle of the road on that issue.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of middle-of-the-road
Tim Bajarin, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Angel went for a respectful middle-of-the-road jab — complimenting her parenting and resilience, but maligning her for being petty.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026
For a middle-of-the-road option that doesn't break the bank, this is a great choice.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
Despite the fact that scientists believe the cosmos is packed with these middle-of-the-road black holes, they are rarely detected.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle-of-the-road
Adjective
Consolidation will be prevalent in 2026, with strong subscriptions taking over failing operations and most middle-of-the-road news dailies ceasing operations.
—Tim Bajarin, Forbes.com, 5 Jan. 2026
Angel went for a respectful middle-of-the-road jab — complimenting her parenting and resilience, but maligning her for being petty.
—Shamira Ibrahim, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2026
For a middle-of-the-road option that doesn't break the bank, this is a great choice.
—Melinda Salchert, Southern Living, 3 Jan. 2026
Despite the fact that scientists believe the cosmos is packed with these middle-of-the-road black holes, they are rarely detected.
—Robert Lea, Space.com, 9 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for middle-of-the-road
Recent Examples of Synonyms for middle-of-the-road
Adjective
-
The condition isn't fully understood, as causes can range from mild to moderate head trauma, to pre-existing inner ear diseases, and treatment is confined largely to a physical therapy exercise called the Epley maneuver.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Mar. 2026
-
The clash mirrors a broader fight within the Democratic Party, as progressive candidates push for a more confrontational stance toward Israel’s government and more moderate lawmakers warn against alienating pro-Israel voters and donors.—
Olivia Olander,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
That process was opened on Monday by the Provisional Electoral Council at its central office in Pétion-Ville, and will continue until March 12.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
4 Mar. 2026
-
Claude’s central argument—that Marks learned from Graham and Buffett just as Claude learned from training data—sounds profound, but human learning and statistical pattern-matching over text corpora are not the same.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The reason CrowdStrike shares are down 16% this year, alongside many other enterprise software companies, is that some investors believe that large language models (LLMs), with their rapidly improving capabilities, will one day displace even the best traditional cybersecurity vendors.—
Jeff Marks,
CNBC,
4 Mar. 2026
-
That demonstration confirmed the drone could operate from naval platforms without traditional runways.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Middle-of-the-road.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/middle-of-the-road. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
