moderate vs taper

moderate

verb
  • To become less excessive 

  • To reduce the excessiveness of (something) 

  • To preside over (something) as a moderator 

  • To act as a moderator; to assist in bringing to compromise 

  • To supply with a moderator (substance that decreases the speed of neutrons in a nuclear reactor and hence increases likelihood of fission). 

noun
  • One who holds an intermediate position between extremes, as in politics. 

  • One of a party in Scottish Church history dominant in the 18th century, lax in doctrine and discipline, but intolerant of evangelicalism and popular rights. It caused the secessions of 1733 and 1761, and its final resultant was the Disruption of 1843. 

adj
  • Having an intermediate position between liberal and conservative. 

  • Average priced; standard-deal 

  • more than mild, less than severe 

  • Mediocre 

  • Not violent or rigorous; temperate; mild; gentle. 

  • Not excessive; acting in moderation 

taper

verb
  • To diminish gradually. 

  • To become thinner or narrower at one end. 

  • To make thinner or narrower at one end. 

  • (of a central bank) To tighten monetary policy. 

adj
  • Tapered; narrowing to a point. 

noun
  • A small light. 

  • A cone-shaped item for stretching the hole for an ear gauge (piercing). 

  • Someone who works with tape or tapes. 

  • A thin stick used for lighting candles, either a wax-coated wick or a slow-burning wooden rod. 

  • One who operates a tape machine. 

  • A slender wax candle. 

  • A tapering form; gradual diminution of thickness and/or cross section in an elongated object. 

How often have the words moderate and taper occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )