Moderate

How to spell moderate

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce moderate

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does moderate mean?

1. adjectiveAverage in amount, intensity, or degree; not extreme.
2. verbTo make or become less extreme, or to preside over a discussion or panel.

Moderate in a sentence

• adjective

  The recipe calls for a moderate amount of salt.

• verb

  The chairwoman agreed to moderate the panel debate next week.

• adjective

  They bought the house at a moderate price they could easily afford.

• verb

  Doctors advised him to moderate his alcohol intake.

Where does moderate come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb moderari, meaning 'to control, to keep within bounds, or to regulate', which was built on the noun modus, meaning 'measure' or 'limit'. The underlying idea was always one of keeping things within a sensible measure rather than letting them run to excess. English adopted it in the late Middle Ages, first as an adjective describing something kept within reasonable limits and then as a verb for the act of restraining or toning something down. The same modus root sits inside familiar relatives such as 'modest', 'modify', and 'mode', all of which carry that sense of measure or manner. Because the middle of the word is an unstressed 'er' followed by the soft '-ate' ending, writers sometimes hesitate over the vowels, but remembering the 'measure' root and the regular '-ate' ending keeps the spelling steady.

How the word is built

• moder- (from Latin modus: measure, limit)
• -ate (adjective/verb suffix)