What does "modulation" mean?
Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.
Modulation
/ˌmɒdjʊˈleɪʃn̩/ noun
noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.
- Grammar: modulation is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: intonation, abatement, about face, about-face.
- Useful contrasts: flat voice, monotone speech, unchanged key.
- Usage evidence: This piece has almost no modulation.
How to use "modulation"
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Meaning check
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Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "modulation" in a final draft.
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Before you rely on this definition
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Definition decision workflow
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Check whether "modulation" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
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Definitions
Noun
- 1 Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this. uncountable
"More ouer the emperours that were moſte noble⸝ delited in daunſyng⸝ perceyuing ther in to be a perfecte meaſure⸝ which maye be called modulation: wherin ſome daunſers of olde tyme ſo wonderfully excelled⸝ that they wolde plainly expreſſe in daunſynge⸝ without any wordes or dittie⸝ hiſtories with the hole circumſtaunce of affaires⸝ in them cõtayned: […]"
- 2 the act of modifying or adjusting according to due measure and proportion (as with regard to artistic effect) wordnet
- 3 Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.; Variation (especially softening or toning down) of brightness, form, etc.; (countable) an instance of this. uncountable
"[…] I ſhall endeavour to point out and regularly deſcribe a certain order and arrangement in their [shades or shadows'] appearance, in vvhich order vve may conceive different kinds of ſoftnings and modulations of the rays of light vvhich are ſaid to fall upon the eye from every object it ſees, and to cauſe thoſe more or leſs-pleaſing vibrations of the optic nerves, vvhich ſerve to inform the mind concerning every different ſhape or figure that preſents itſelf."
- 4 (electronics) the transmission of a signal by using it to vary a carrier wave; changing the carrier's amplitude or frequency or phase wordnet
- 5 Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.; Variation in the activity or form of a cell in response to changes in the environment; (countable) an instance of this. uncountable
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 a manner of speaking in which the loudness or pitch or tone of the voice is modified wordnet
- 7 Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.; Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word: modification of an electromagnetic wave or other oscillating carrier wave to apply a signal to it; (countable) an instance of this; also, the extent to which such a wave is modified; and the modified wave or signal. uncountable
"Modulation is the process in which information is encoded in radio signals. Modulation describes changing an aspect of the wave. There are two main types of radio modulation: amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation (FM). […] In amplitude modulation the height (amplitude) of the wave is changed. In frequency modulation, the number of waves that pass a given point in a second is changed."
- 8 rise and fall of the voice pitch wordnet
- 9 Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.; Variation of the intensity, pitch, and tone of the sound of a musical instrument or voice; inflection; (countable) an instance of this. uncountable
"[A]lthough the vveazon, throtle and tongue [of birds] be the inſtruments of voice, and by their agitations doe chiefly concurre unto theſe delightfull modulations, yet cannot vve aſſigne the cauſe unto any particular formation; […]"
- 10 a musical passage moving from one key to another wordnet
- 11 Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.; Changing of the key in a piece of music; also, the effect achieved by this as an element of harmony; (countable) an instance of this. uncountable
"More interesting still the modulations, not merely from one key to another, but from mood to mood. A theme is stated, then developed, pushed out of shape, imperceptibly deformed, until, though still recognizably the same, it has become quite different."
- 12 Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.; The quality of a typeface of having contrasting, thick and thin parts of the strokes; stroke-width variation. uncountable
"Garamond has modulation, while Helvetica does not."
- 13 Changing of a thing from one form to another; (countable) an instance of this. uncountable
- 14 Harmonious use of language in poetry or prose. obsolete, uncountable
"Then begin the arts of rhetoric and poetry, the regulation of figures, the ſelection of vvords, the modulation of periods, the graces of tranſition, the complication of cauſes, and all the delicacies of ſtyle, and ſubtilties of compoſition, uſeful vvhile they advance perſpicuity, and laudable vvhile they increaſe pleaſure, but eaſy to be refined by needleſs ſcrupuloſity till they ſhall more embarraſs the vvriter than aſſiſt the reader or delight him."
- 15 Modification of the parts of a classical Greek or Roman building to achieve appropriate proportions by measuring in modules (“standard units of measure, usually the diameter or radius of a column at the base of a shaft”). obsolete, rare, uncountable
"About Theatres, ſaith He [Vitruvius], are Porticoes, and VValks, vvhich appear ought to be ſo placed, as they muſt be double. And have the outvvard Columns Dorick vvith Architraves, and Ornaments made from the rule of the Dorick modulation."
- 16 Any of the musical notes in ecclesiastical modes of music on which a melodic phrase had to begin and end. countable, obsolete
- 17 Arrangement or composition, or performance, of music in a certain key or mode; also (countable) a series of musical notes, chord, or tune analyzed according to a key or mode. obsolete, uncountable
- 18 Making music or singing; (countable) a melody, a tune; also (chiefly in the plural), a musical note. obsolete, uncountable
"I will sing of thy mercy and judgment, says David; when we fix ourselves upon the meditation and modulation of the mercy of God, even his judgments cannot put us out of tune, but we shall sing and be cheerful even in them."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
flat voicemonotone speechunchanged keyunmodulated signal
Example
"This piece has almost no modulation."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "modulation"?
Common synonyms include: intonation, abatement, about face, about-face, accommodation, adaptation.
How do you use "modulation" in a sentence?
This piece has almost no modulation.
How do you pronounce "modulation"?
Pronounced /ˌmɒdjʊˈleɪʃn̩/.
Etymology
From Late Middle English modulacion, modulacioun (“act of making music or singing; harmony; melody, song”), from Middle French modulation (modern French modulation), and directly from its etymon Latin modulātiō (“regular or rhythmical measure, modulation; inflection of tone; (architecture) calculation of measurements from a standard unit; (Late Latin) act of making music or singing; melody, song”), from modulātus (“modulated”) + -iō (suffix forming abstract nouns from verbs). Modulātus is a perfect participle of modulor (“to beat time; to make music or sing; to measure; etc.”), from modulus (“rhythmical measure, interval; rhythm; small interval or measure, etc.”) + -or (suffix forming certain inflections of verbs); and modulus is from modus (“measure; method; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure; etc.”)) + -ulus (diminutive suffix). By surface analysis, modulat(e) + -ion (suffix denoting an action or process, or its result).