Heteronym
"Moderate" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say MOD-er-it when it means not extreme, average (adjective), and MOD-er-ayt when it means to preside over a debate (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
adjective
MOD-er-it
not extreme, average
“The weather was moderate.”
verb
MOD-er-ayt
to preside over a debate
“She will moderate the panel.”
Each button speaks the respelling, not the spelling — otherwise the speech engine would pick a single default pronunciation for both senses.
| Pronunciation | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| MOD-er-it | adjective | not extreme, average |
| MOD-er-ayt | verb | to preside over a debate |
"Moderate" has two different pronunciations with two different meanings. Say MOD-er-it when it means not extreme, average (adjective), and MOD-er-ayt when it means to preside over a debate (verb). Which one is correct depends entirely on the sentence.
Pronounced MOD-er-it, "moderate" is a adjective meaning not extreme, average. For example: "The weather was moderate."
Pronounced MOD-er-ayt, "moderate" is a verb meaning to preside over a debate. For example: "She will moderate the panel."
"Moderate" is a heteronym: two distinct words that happen to be spelled the same way. English spelling did not standardise around pronunciation, so unrelated words sometimes converged on one spelling while keeping separate sounds.
See the full entry for “moderate”, browse all 76 heteronyms and stress pairs, or learn how English stress works.