How to pronounce “moderate”
“moderate” is said two ways
/ˈmɑdɚət/
MOD-ur-uht
Meaning middling. The ending is a reduced -uht.
/ˈmɑdɚˌeɪt/
MOD-uh-rayt
To chair a discussion, or to make something less extreme. Ends in -rayt.
Listen for the vowel, not the letters
The spelling never moves; the sounds inside it do. Practise the two back to back, so your mouth stops defaulting to whichever one you learnt first.Both forms live in one sentence here: “He will moderate the panel and keep a moderate tone throughout.”Each button plays a short phrase rather than the bare word: the model voice takes its stress from the words around it, so asking it for “moderate” on its own would play one reading twice instead of the adjective and the verb. Read the transcription as you listen.
Say “moderate” in 3 beats
moderate
/ˈmɑdɚət/
Everything in this card describes the adjective form. As a verb it is /ˈmɑdɚˌeɪt/.
The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /ˈmɒdəɹət/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.
- mɑmɑstress
- dɚdɚ
- ətət
- IPA (American)
- /ˈmɑdɚət/
- IPA (British)
- /ˈmɒdəɹət/
- Respelling
- MOD-ur-uht (adjective) · MOD-uh-rayt (verb)
- Syllables
- 3 — MⱭ-dɚ-ət
- Stress
- Stress the first syllable: MⱭ-dɚ-ət. “mɑ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
- Part of speech
- noun, verb, adjective
- Difficulty
- Pro — the sounds are ordinary, the rhythm is where it slips
American and British are not the same here
This is the adjective form in two accents — a separate question from the two pronunciations above, which are the same accent saying two different words.
/ˈmɑdɚət/
/ˈmɒdəɹət/
No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.
Where “moderate” goes wrong
- Often heard
“a MOD-uh-rayt pace”
the adjective ends in -uht; only the verb ends in -rayt
What “moderate” means
- noun
a person who takes a position in the political center
- verb
preside over
“John moderated the discussion”
- verb
make less fast or intense
“moderate your speed”
Say it in a sentence
“He will moderate the panel and keep a moderate tone throughout.”“moderate”, answered
How do you pronounce “moderate”?
“moderate” has two pronunciations: /ˈmɑdɚət/ as an adjective and /ˈmɑdɚˌeɪt/ as a verb — the part of speech decides which. The spelling never changes; the sounds inside it do, and nothing on the page tells you which one a sentence wants. The transcription and syllable breakdown below describe the adjective form. Build it as MⱭ-dɚ-ət, then run the first syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.
How many syllables does “moderate” have?
3: mɑ · dɚ · ət. The beat lands on the first, “mɑ”.
Which pronunciation of “moderate” is correct?
Both are. /ˈmɑdɚət/ (MOD-ur-uht) as an adjective; /ˈmɑdɚˌeɪt/ (MOD-uh-rayt) as a verb. Nothing about the spelling tells you which — the sentence does, and the two are as different as any two words. Both appear here: “He will moderate the panel and keep a moderate tone throughout.”
Is “moderate” said differently in British English?
Yes. American English says /ˈmɑdɚət/ (MOD-ur-uht); British English says /ˈmɒdəɹət/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.
What does “moderate” mean?
As a noun: a person who takes a position in the political center For example: “He will moderate the panel and keep a moderate tone throughout.” It carries 2 other senses as well — all of them said the same way.
Where is the stress in “moderate”?
Stress the first syllable: MⱭ-dɚ-ət. “mɑ” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllables fall away from it.
Now say “moderate” and see every sound
Record it once and sayit lines your audio up against the target sound by sound — what landed, what slipped, and what it sounded like instead.