Middle way
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The middle of three paths.
- 2 An intermediate course (of action, policy etc) between two extremes; a compromise.
"Obama's choice, according to McChrystal, a former special forces commander, boils down to this: Escalate or evacuate, get on or get out; there is no middle way that does not invite calamity on a grand scale."
- 3 The teaching of the Buddha of neither living in great excess nor in great asceticism.
- 4 The midpoint of a person's life; middle age.
Example
More examples"Obama's choice, according to McChrystal, a former special forces commander, boils down to this: Escalate or evacuate, get on or get out; there is no middle way that does not invite calamity on a grand scale."
Etymology
From middle + way. Compare Dutch middelweg, German Mittelweg; compare also Latin via media.