modulate
to regulate by or adjust to a certain measure or proportion; soften; tone down.
to alter or adapt (the voice) according to the circumstances, one's listener, etc.
Music.
to attune to a certain pitch or key.
to vary the volume of (tone).
Telecommunications. to cause the amplitude, frequency, phase, or intensity of (a carrier wave) to vary in accordance with a sound wave or other signal, the frequency of the signal wave usually being very much lower than that of the carrier.
Telecommunications.
to modulate a carrier wave.
Citizens Band Radio Slang. to talk; visit: Enjoyed modulating with you.
Music. to pass from one key to another: to modulate abruptly from A to B flat.
Origin of modulate
1Other words for modulate
Other words from modulate
- mod·u·la·bil·i·ty [moj-uh-luh-bil-i-tee], /ˌmɒdʒ ə ləˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun
- mod·u·la·tive, mod·u·la·to·ry [moj-uh-luh-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee], /ˈmɒdʒ ə ləˌtɔr i, -ˌtoʊr i/, adjective
- re·mod·u·late, verb (used with object), re·mod·u·lat·ed, re·mod·u·lat·ing.
- un·mod·u·lat·ed, adjective
- un·mod·u·la·tive, adjective
- well-mod·u·lat·ed, adjective
Words Nearby modulate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use modulate in a sentence
She had stumbled, it seemed, onto a possible drug candidate capable of modulating the master switch.
The miracle molecule that could treat brain injuries and boost your fading memory | Adam Piore | August 25, 2021 | MIT Technology Review“This paper represents a significant advance in our understanding of how the hippocampus modulates metabolism,” says Elizabeth Gould, a neuroscientist at Princeton University who wasn’t involved in the study.
Ripples in rats’ brains tied to memory may also reduce sugar levels | Laura Sanders | August 11, 2021 | Science NewsThe new finding of an “ignored historical land use emission” suggests that even now, we lack a complete understanding of how the Earth’s land surfaces are driving and modulating the warming of the planet.
An enormous missing contribution to global warming may have been right under our feet | Chris Mooney | June 4, 2021 | Washington PostIt’s also easy to modulate—you can take it easy and use a session as a warm-up or go hard and blast yourself.
Changes in the cingulate cortex and hippocampus, on the other hand, could allow us to learn how to modulate negative feelings and emotions.
A Quiet Path Out of the Coronavirus Shadow - Issue 98: Mind | Clayton Dalton | March 31, 2021 | Nautilus
Some in the Obama orbit hoped that the entry into government would modulate and moderate Islamist goals.
Obama's Foolish Embrace of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood | David Frum | September 13, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTPreviously, the medical community had known little about how to prevent or modulate this devastating liver disease.
Also modulate your tones to the pitch of discretion and confidence.
Certain Success | Norval A. HawkinsMr. Sylvester's voice, careful as he was to modulate it, showed a secret discouragement.
The Sword of Damocles | Anna Katharine GreenSomewhere in the circuit there seems to be an effect that serves to modulate the incoming signal.
The Egyptian Cat Mystery | Harold Leland GoodwinFollow the directions for Exercise I. Sing quietly in a pitch that is easy for the voice, and modulate up or down by half steps.
Resonance in Singing and Speaking | Thomas FillebrownIt began to modulate itself and to express things most voices are incapable of expressing.
The Shuttle | Frances Hodgson Burnett
British Dictionary definitions for modulate
/ (ˈmɒdjʊˌleɪt) /
(tr) to change the tone, pitch, or volume of
(tr) to adjust or regulate the degree of
music
to subject to or undergo modulation in music
(often foll by to) to make or become in tune (with a pitch, key, etc)
(tr) physics electronics to cause to vary by a process of modulation
Origin of modulate
1Derived forms of modulate
- modulability (ˌmɒdjʊləˈbɪlɪtɪ), noun
- modulative or modulatory, adjective
- modulator, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for modulate
[ mŏj′ə-lāt′ ]
To vary the amplitude, frequency, or some other characteristic of a signal or power source. See also amplitude modulation frequency modulation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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