modulations

Noun

modulation (countable and uncountable, plural modulations)

1. (uncountable) Modification or regulation of something to achieve an appropriate measure or proportion; (countable) an instance of this.
   • 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...1531, Thomas Elyot, “Of the Firste Begynnyng of Daunsing and the Old Estimation therof”, in The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC, 1st boke, folio 79, verso
   1. (uncountable) Variation (especially softening or toning down) of brightness, form, etc.; (countable) an instance of this.
      • […] 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...1753, William Hogarth, “Of Light and Shade, and the Manner in which Objects are Explained to the Eye by Them”, in The Analysis of Beauty. […], London: […] J[ohn] Reeves for the author, […], →OCLC...
   2. (uncountable) Variation in the activity or form of a cell in response to changes in the environment; (countable) an instance of this.
   3. (uncountable) 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.
      • 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...2022, Elizabeth Rubio, “Transmitting and Receiving Radio Waves”, in Understanding and Using Radio Waves (The Electromagnetic Spectrum), New York, N.Y.: Enslow Publishing, →ISBN, page 22
   4. (uncountable) Variation of the intensity, pitch, and tone of the sound of a musical instrument or voice; inflection; (countable) an instance of this.
      • [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; […]1646, Thomas Browne, “Of the Wish of Philoxenus [of Leucas]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], London: […] T[homas] H[arper] for Edward Dod, […], →OCLC, 7th book, page 368
   5. (uncountable) 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.
      • 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.1928, Aldous Huxley, “XXII: From Philip Quarles’s Notebook”, in Point Counter Point, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC, page 408

See all 13 meanings of modulation