moderate

noun

One who holds an intermediate position between extremes, as in politics.

(Christianity, historical) 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.

verb

(transitive) To reduce the excessiveness of (something).

(intransitive) To become less excessive.

(transitive) To preside over (something) as a moderator.

(intransitive) To act as a moderator; to assist in bringing to compromise.

(transitive, physics) To supply with a moderator (substance that decreases the speed of neutrons in a nuclear reactor and hence increases likelihood of fission).

adjective

Not excessive; acting in moderation

Not violent or rigorous; temperate; mild; gentle.

(US, politics) Having an intermediate position between liberal and conservative.

Average priced; standard-deal

Mediocre

(pathology) more than mild, less than severe

Roots

modusmod- · Latin · measure, manner

Synonyms for moderate

centristadj temperateadj mildadj restrainedadj conservativeadj modestadj tempern mollifyv slightadj softenv tameadj tolerableadj middlingadj

Synonyms & related words for moderate

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of moderate — including centrist, temperate, mild, restrained, conservative, modest. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to moderate

Explore words related to moderate — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include moderately, moderation, moderateness, middlingly, milden, temperately, temperateness, abstemiously. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for moderate

Common synonyms for moderate include centrist, temperate, mild, restrained, conservative, modest, temper, mollify — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does moderate come from?

The word moderate breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root mod-, from Latin modus (“measure, manner”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.