Modulierenden

Modulierenden is the attributive form of the German present participle of the verb modulieren, meaning to modulate or vary something. As an adjective it signals that a person, process, signal, or variable has a modulatory or modifying effect on another quantity or system. Like other -end adjectives, modulierenden is declined according to gender, number and case (for example modulierender, modulierende, modulierendes in the nominative; modulierenden in the dative plural, etc.).

In usage, modulierenden describes processes or elements that cause modulation or variation. Common contexts include signal processing and communications, where terms like modulierendes Signal describe a carrier signal that is modulated by another input. In scientific and engineering texts it can also appear as modulatory or modulating influences, parameters or factors that alter the strength, direction, or other characteristics of a relationship or system response. In linguistics or music, it can refer to modulation of pitch, dynamics, or other expressive features described as modulierende Passagen or modulierende Veränderungen.

Notes and caveats: in statistics and data analysis the standard German term for a variable that changes the effect of one variable on another is moderierende Variable (moderating variable). While modulierend is understood in many technical contexts, it is less common as a synonym for moderator in formal statistical language. Care should be taken to use the conventional term in discipline-specific writing.

See also: modulation, modulator, modulation (signal processing).