modulates
|mod-u-lates|
🇺🇸
/ˈmɑdʒəleɪts/
🇬🇧
/ˈmɒd.jʊ.leɪts/
(modulate)
adjust intensity
Etymology
'modulate' originates from Latin, specifically the word 'modulatus' (the past participle of 'modulari'), where 'modus' meant 'measure' or 'manner' and the suffix formed verbal/adjectival uses.
'modulate' changed from Latin 'modulatus' through Late Latin/Old French forms such as 'moduler' and entered English via Middle English and Early Modern English to become the modern English 'modulate'.
Initially, it meant 'to measure out rhythm or melody', but over time it evolved into its current meaning of 'to adjust or regulate (a property such as tone, pitch, intensity)'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Verb 1
to vary or control the amplitude, frequency, or phase of a carrier signal or voice — i.e., to encode information by changing a waveform.
The transmitter modulates the carrier signal to carry information.
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Verb 2
to change from one key to another in music.
In the second movement the composer modulates to the dominant key.
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Verb 3
to adjust or regulate the intensity, tone, or strength of something (speech, behavior, signal, etc.)
She modulates her voice when speaking to small children.
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Last updated: 2025/09/25 18:03