Difference between Middle-of-the-road and Moderate

Middle-of-the-road

Part of speech: adjective

Definition: Having a centrist attitude or philosophy; not extreme, especially politically.

Moderate

Part of speech: adjective

Definition: Not excessive; acting in moderationMediocreAverage priced; standard-deal(US politics) Having an intermediate position between liberal and conservative.

Part of speech: noun

Definition: One who holds an intermediate position between the extremes relevant in a political contextSimilar middle-grounder in any other context.

Part of speech: verb

Definition: To reduce the excessiveness of (something)To become less excessiveTo preside over (something) as a moderatorTo act as a moderator; to assist in bringing to compromise

Example sentence: What is a moderate interpretation of the text? Halfway between what it really means and what you'd like it to mean?