moderate
n. countablen. a person whose political or social opinions are not extreme. You use this to describe someone who prefers middle-ground solutions rather than big, sudden changes.
n. a person who holds political or social views that are not extreme or radical. Often used to describe individuals who seek compromise between opposing ideological factions.
He is a moderate who listens to both sides.
The candidate is a political moderate who hopes to win votes from both the left and the right.
While the party's base pushed for radical reform, the moderates in the senate argued for a gradual transition to ensure economic stability during the legislative shift.
From Middle English moderat(e) (“moderate, temperate”), borrowed from Latin moderātus, perfect active participle of moderor (“to regulate, to restrain, to moderate”) (see -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from moder-, modes-, a stem appearing also in modestus (“moderate, discreet, modest”), from modus (“a measure”); see mode and modest. Doublet of moderato. Displaced native Old English ġemetlīċ (“moderate”) and metegian (“to moderate”). Cognate with French modéré.
From a substantivization of the above adjective, see -ate (noun-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
From Middle English moderaten (“to restrain, curb; (law) modify”), from moderat(e) + -en (verb-forming suffix), borrowed from Latin moderātus, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and Etymology 1 for more.
Often used in political contexts to contrast with 'extremist' or 'radical'.