Noun

The state or quality of being moderate; avoidance of extremes

* {{quote-book

, passage=...It regulates and governs the Passions of the Mind, and brings them into due moderation and frame... , page=17 , title=An Account of the Growth of Deism in England , author=William Stephens , year=1696}}

* 1772 , , [http://books.google.com/books?id=twVuAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA394]:

Mr. Chairman, at this moment I stand astonished at my own moderation !

* 1821 October 12, , [http://books.google.com/books?id=5q4XBa5jsy8C&pg=PA7]:

America is a model of force and freedom and moderation - with all the coarseness and rudeness of its people.

An instance of moderating: bringing something away from extremes, especially in a beneficial way

* {{quote-news, year=1936, date=March, work=The Southern Lumberman citation

, passage=With the quick moderation of the weather some buying has appeared that had been held up because of the extremely cold weather

The process of moderating a discussion

The moderation of a large online forum can be hard work.

Noun

(obsolete) Endurance of evil, suffering etc.

The allowance of something not explicitly approved; tolerance, forbearance.

Specifically, the allowance by a government (or other ruling power) of the exercise of religion beyond the state established faith.

* 2012 , Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex , Penguin 2013, p. 86:

Above all, the establishment of toleration helped to weaken the presumption that plurality in matters of faith inevitably caused social disorder.