What does demodulated mean?
"Demodulated" is the past tense of "demodulate," meaning to recover the original information from a modulated carrier wave. In communications engineering, transmitting data requires first impressing it onto a higher-frequency carrier through modulation; at the receiving end, the process is reversed — the signal is demodulated so that the audio, video, or data it carries can be retrieved. The word also functions as an adjective, as in "the demodulated signal," referring to the recovered waveform itself. It belongs firmly to the register of telecommunications and electronics: radio receivers, satellite links, modems, and software-defined radios all perform demodulation, and engineers routinely speak of demodulated output or coherently demodulated signals. Its natural antonym is "modulated." Though technical, the concept underlies virtually all modern wireless communication, making "demodulated" a useful word for anyone describing how signals travel from transmitter to listener. It derives from Latin roots: "de-" (undo) plus "modulus" (measure).
Past tense and past participle of demodulate: to extract the original information-bearing signal from a modulated carrier wave.
"The receiver demodulated the incoming transmission within milliseconds."
Almost exclusively found in technical contexts such as radio, telecommunications, and signal processing.
(Of a signal) having undergone demodulation; no longer carried on a modulated wave.
"The demodulated audio was clean despite the weak reception."
Typically used attributively, as in 'demodulated signal' or 'demodulated output'.
Every song you stream, call you make, and Wi-Fi packet you receive was demodulated somewhere along the way — without it, your phone would hear only meaningless static.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of demodulated
"Demodulated" combines the prefix "de-", indicating reversal, with "modulate", which comes from Latin "modulari" (to measure or regulate), itself from "modulus", a diminutive of "modus" (measure). The term emerged in the twentieth century alongside radio engineering, when separating an information signal from its carrier became a core technical operation. It shares its root with related words such as "modem", "modulator", and "modular".
Related word forms
How demodulated is actually used
Primarily a technical term used in telecommunications, radio engineering, and electronics; rare in everyday speech except among specialists. The adjective sense typically appears attributively before 'signal' or 'output'.
Easily confused with demodulated
A modulated signal has information impressed onto a carrier wave; a demodulated signal has had that information extracted back out.