Meaning & use
moderately
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Meanings
adverbnot comparable
To a fair or average degree, not very much and not very little.
Grammar: Usually placed before an adjective or adverb: moderately priced, moderately well.
Patterns
- moderately + adjective
- moderately + adverb
The hotel was moderately expensive but very clean.
She did moderately well in the exam.
The soup is moderately spicy, so most guests will enjoy it.
adverbnot comparable
In a restrained way, without going to extremes.
Grammar: Comes after the verb it modifies: drink moderately, exercise moderately.
Patterns
- eat moderately
- drink moderately
Doctors say you can drink coffee moderately without harm.
He exercised moderately, three days a week.
The party's leaders spoke moderately about the new tax.
Common combinations
- moderately successful
- The film was moderately successful at the box office.
- moderately priced
- We found a moderately priced restaurant near the station.
- moderately active
- Adults should stay moderately active every day.
- moderately high
- The test revealed moderately high cholesterol.
- drink moderately
- Few people can drink moderately at every celebration.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fairly
- Fairly is more casual and can sound mildly positive, while moderately sounds more measured and formal.
- reasonably
- Reasonably suggests a satisfactory level, whereas moderately simply says the level is in the middle.
- somewhat
- Somewhat usually softens a negative or surprising quality, while moderately fits both good and bad qualities.
- quite
- Quite can mean fairly or very depending on accent and context, so moderately is the clearer choice.
Opposites
Word family
- moderate adjective
- average in amount or not extreme
- moderation noun
- avoidance of excess
- moderate verb
- to make less extreme or to supervise a discussion
- moderator noun
- a person who chairs a debate or checks online posts
Commonly confused: moderately or modestly?
moderately vs modestly
Modestly means humbly or in a small amount, while moderately means to a middle degree.
Practice
The rent is ___ high, but still manageable for most families.
Choose one answer.
Moderately gives a middle degree and fits the idea of manageable. Excessively and absolutely are extreme, and hardly reverses the meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “moderately”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.