The Meaning of Moderate: What It Is and How To Use It

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

Do you have moderate opinions, or are they more extreme? Have you ever watched someone moderate a debate? As you read this article, you will learn about the word moderate and how to use it. 

By the end of this article, you will have improved your vocabulary a moderate amount!

What Does Moderate Mean?

According to Dictionary, the word moderate can be a noun, adjective, or verb. As an adjective, the word moderate means not extreme or excessive and existing within reasonable limits. As a verb, the word moderate means to make something less severe or intense. 

As a noun, a moderate is a person who does not have any extreme views. The pronunciation of moderate is ˈmɒdərɪt. The adverb form of the word moderate is moderately.

How Can We Use Moderate in a Sentence?

As we just covered, moderate can be used as a noun, an adjective, or a verb. Below, you will find several example sentences that contain the word moderate. As you read, see the typed of things that are described as moderate. 

Then, see if you can come up with things in your own life that are moderate or extreme. One of the easiest ways to learn how to use new words like moderate is to use them in a sentence!

The family enjoyed shopping at the local bargain grocery store because of their moderate prices and high-quality products.

The parents allowed their children a moderate amount within reasonable limits – they were trusted until the trust was broken.

As soon as the man had a bit of moderate success, he began living a life of excessiveness.

The centrist had moderate views, unlike his neighbor, who was an extremist Republican. He preferred conversing with political moderates.

We enjoyed our vacation to the moderate climate during the dead of winter in our New England town.

The actor’s agent made moderate demands, which were not as insane as the talent booker had heard their rider was. 

The man thought he was a moderate drinker until he walked into his own intervention.

Despite the child being a moderate eater, he continued to gain weight, so his mother brought him to the pediatrician.

We could handle moderate heat, but temperatures in the hundreds were far outside our comfort level.

The child showed moderate improvement in her test-taking skills and was allowed to graduate to the next grade.

The singer had moderate talent, but not enough to be a star.

We were in search of a vehicle of moderate size with high safety ratings and reliability.

What Is the Etymology of Moderate?

Dictionary states that the word moderate entered Middle English in the mid to late 1300s. Originally, the word moderate was just an adjective, and the verb form of moderate was moderaten.

These words come from the Latin moderātus and moderā, meaning to mitigate or control, from the Latin modus.

What Are Translations of Moderate?

Moderate can be a helpful word to know if you are going to be traveling to another country where most people do not speak English. You might need to request food at a moderate spice level or a moderate temperature for a drink, for example.

Using this list of translations of moderate from Nice Translator, you will be able to say moderate in any language!

  • Bengali: মাঝারি
  • Welsh: cymedrola 
  • Croatian: umjeren
  • Telugu: మోస్తరు
  • Indonesian: sedang
  • Swahili: wastani
  • Estonian: mõõdukas
  • Latvian: mērens
  • Marathi: मध्यम
  • Serbian: умерен
  • Slovenian: zmerno
  • Norwegian: moderat
  • Vietnamese: vừa phải
  • Filipino: Katamtaman
  • Danish: moderat
  • Portuguese (Brazil): moderado
  • Thai: ปานกลาง
  • Hebrew: לְמַתֵן
  • German: mäßig
  • Chinese (PRC): 缓和
  • Tamil: மிதமான
  • Japanese: 適度
  • Gujarati: માધ્યમ
  • Greek: μέτριος
  • Lithuanian: Vidutinis
  • Spanish: moderado
  • Basque: neurritsu
  • Slovak: mierny
  • Bulgarian: умерен
  • Malay: sederhana
  • Hindi: संतुलित
  • Finnish: kohtuullinen
  • Turkish: ılıman
  • Arabic: معتدل
  • French: modéré
  • Chinese (Taiwan): 緩和
  • Icelandic: Miðlungs
  • Polish: umiarkowany
  • Romanian: moderat
  • Amharic: መካከለኛ
  • Urdu: اعتدال پسند
  • Swedish: måttlig
  • Korean: 보통의
  • Malayalam: മിതത്വം
  • Italian: moderare
  • Russian: умеренный
  • Ukrainian: помірний
  • Catalan: moderar -se
  • Dutch: gematigd
  • Czech: mírný
  • Kannada: ಮಧ್ಯಮ
  • Portuguese (Portugal): moderado
  • Hungarian: mérsékelt

What Are Synonyms of Moderate?

Funnily enough, the word moderate has a neutral, moderate connotation! Sometimes, you might be looking for a word that means moderate by definition but has either a positive or a negative connotation. 

To find more words like moderate, you can use word lists of synonyms from places like Power Thesaurus. As you read this list, see how many synonyms of moderate you know!

  • abate
  • abstemious
  • acceptable
  • adequate
  • allay
  • alleviate
  • assuage
  • average
  • calm
  • chair
  • check
  • conservative
  • contain
  • control
  • controlled
  • cool
  • curb
  • decrease
  • diminish
  • ease
  • fair
  • gentle
  • hold
  • lessen
  • let up
  • mediate
  • medium
  • middle-of-the-road
  • middling
  • mild
  • mince
  • mitigate
  • modest
  • modify
  • modulate
  • palliate
  • passable
  • reasonable
  • reduce
  • relax
  • restrain
  • restrained
  • slacken
  • sober
  • soften
  • soothe
  • subdue
  • subside
  • tame
  • temper
  • temperate
  • tolerable
  • tone down
  • weaken

What Are Antonyms of Moderate?

Someone or something that is not moderate is extreme or incendiary. To learn about many words that mean the opposite of moderate, use this antonym list from Power Thesaurus.

  • abnormal
  • acute
  • aggravate
  • agitate
  • crazy
  • excessive
  • exorbitant
  • extortionate
  • extraordinary
  • extravagant
  • extreme
  • extremist
  • fabulous
  • fantastic
  • furious
  • great
  • greedy
  • harsh
  • immoderate
  • inordinate
  • insane
  • intemperate
  • intense
  • liberal
  • mad
  • magnify
  • outrageous
  • outstanding
  • profound
  • progressive
  • rabid
  • radical
  • rough
  • sensational
  • steep
  • stellar
  • strong
  • terrific
  • three sheets to the wind
  • turbulent
  • ultra
  • unacceptable
  • uncontrolled
  • undue
  • unlimited
  • unreasonable
  • unrestrained
  • violent
  • wild

Conclusion

The word of the day, moderate (ˈmɑd ə rət), can be a noun, an adjective, or a verb. The word moderate is usually used to describe someone or something that is not extreme or obsessive.

Sources:

Moderate synonyms – 3 377 Words and Phrases for Moderate | Power Thesaurus

Moderate antonyms – 2 810 Opposites of Moderate | Power Thesaurus

Moderate Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com 

Moderate | Nice Translator