v · neutral
modulate
UK/ˈmɒdjʊleɪt/US/ˈmɑːdʒəˌleɪt/MOD·u·late
to adjust or adapt to a certain level, often to regulate intensity or tone
Examples
“The brain modulates emotional responses to stressful events.”
“Speakers modulate their tone depending on the audience.”
“Policies should modulate tax rates to stabilise the economy.”
Band 8 sentence
“Effective communicators modulate their language to match the listener's level of expertise and cultural background.”
Collocations
- modulate behaviour/response/tone
- carefully modulate
Word family
Common mistakes
use 'modulate' like 'change' randomly→use 'modulate' for controlled or measured adjustments
modulate the rate into 'modulate the rate of'→modulate the rate of (something) or modulate (something)
Say it for a higher band
5adjust→6change→7+modulate
Synonyms
adjust
Easily confused
adjust
“Engineers adjust the settings, while physiologists modulate neural signals.”
Related words
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In Sublist 6
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