moderate
/ˈmɑdəɹət/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.27 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Not excessive; acting in moderation.
adj
adj
Average or middling, for example in price.
noun
One who holds an intermediate position between extremes, as in politics.
noun
One of a party in Scottish Church history dominant in the 18th century, lax in doctrine and discipline, but intolerant of evangelicalism and popular rights. It caused the secessions of 1733 and 1761, and its final resultant was the Disruption of 1843.
Example Sentences
- "moderate language"
- "a moderate Calvinist"
- "travelling at a moderate speed"
- "A number of moderate members managed […] to obtain a majority in a thin house."
- "a moderate winter"
- "These are called the Islands of the Blest; rains fall there seldom, and in moderate showers, but for the most part they have gentle breezes, bringing along with them soft dews"
Etymology
From Middle English moderat(e) (“moderate, temperate”), borrowed from Latin moderātus, perfect active participle of moderor (“to regulate, to restrain, to moderate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from moder-, modes-, a stem appearing also in modestus (“moderate, discreet, modest”), from modus (“a measure”); see mode and modest. Doublet of moderato. Displaced native Old English ġemetlīċ (“moderate”) and metegian (“to moderate”). Cognate with French modéré.
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɑdəɹət/
- British English: /ˈmɒdəɹət/
Usage
- American usage
- Transitive verb
- Intransitive verb
Inflected Forms
more moderate (comparative)
most moderate (superlative)
moderates (plural)
moderates (present, singular)
moderating (participle, present)
moderated (participle, past)
moderated (past)
Derived Forms
Phrases
moderate breeze
co-moderate