moderate

Fetched 2026-10-27 (live).

Synonyms: moderato, moderat, operate, immoderate, ponderate, modulate, macerate, tolerate, moderator, merate, moderated

Antonyms: moderato, moderat, operate, immoderate, ponderate, modulate, macerate, tolerate, moderator, merate, moderated

Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.

Adjective

1. Not excessive; acting in moderation.
   • moderate language
   • a moderate Calvinist
   • travelling at a moderate speed
2. More than mild but less than severe.
3. Mediocre.
4. Average or middling, for example in price.
5. Not violent or rigorous; temperate; mild; gentle.
   • a moderate winter
6. Having an intermediate position between liberal and conservative.

Noun

1. One who holds an intermediate position between extremes, as in politics.
   • While the moderates usually propose political compromise, it's often only achieved when the extremists allow them so
   • The moderates are the natural advocates of ecumenism against the fanatics of their churches.
2. 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

1. To reduce the excessiveness of (something).
   • to moderate rage, action, desires, etc.
2. To become less excessive.
   • He used to be an extremist but moderated later in life.
3. To preside over (something) as a moderator.
   • to moderate a synod
4. To act as a moderator; to assist in bringing to compromise.
   • We need more users to volunteer to moderate the comment section of our forum.
5. To supply with a moderator (substance that decreases the speed of neutrons in a nuclear reactor and hence increases likelihood of fission).
   • a graphite-moderated reactor

Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wiktionary) · cached copy, not a rewrite.