well-measuredadj.

c1450 Contin. Lydgate's Secrees (Sloane 2464) l. 2258 (MED) That officeer..[should be] Wel mesuryd, specially in twoo thynges, Mete and drynk.

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 282 Tobe wele mesurit jn..eting and drinking.

?1554 Godfridus' Bk. Astron. (rev. ed.) sig. Dii^v A chylde borne shalbe of longe lyfe and profytable, and well mesured in eche thynge.

?1608 S. Lennard tr. P. Charron Of Wisdome Pref. sig. A^v There is opposite vnto Wisdome not onely follie, which is an irregularitie or loosenesse of life, and Wisdome a regularitie or moderation, well measured and proportioned: but also common basenesse and vulgar Simplicitie.

1581 T. Styward Pathwaie to Martiall Discipline 113 That little mouing which is to bee graunted to them, must not bee ouer hastie but in pace slowe, sober, and well measured.

1635 tr. S. Dupleix Resoluer 292 It [sc. music] is composed and ruled with a certaine order and well measured cadency.

1648 J. Milton To H. Lawes in H. Lawes Choice Psalmes sig. a^v Harry, whose tunefull and well measur'd song First taught our English Music how to span Words with just note and accent.

a1731 J. Hughes Miscellanies (1737) 95 Our great Forefathers in Poetic Song Were rude in Diction..; Well-measur'd Verse they knew not how to frame.

1765 C. Lloyd Crit. Rev. New Admin. 29 In a grave and well measured Pace, walking before the King.

1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe II. vii. 407 Puttenham is perhaps the first who wrote a well-measured prose.

1880 E. Dowden in T. H. Ward Eng. Poets III. 344 They present lofty thoughts in language of animated seriousness and in well-measured verse.

1915 A. T. Baroody Our Man of Patience 40 One marvels how such a poet can sing offhand for several hours well-measured poetry.

1996 S. Jayyusi in J. R. Smart Trad. & Modernity in Arabic Lang. & Lit. iii. 42 The symmetrical, well-measured divisions of the verse encourage a higher tone.

1606 J. Finet tr. R. de Lucinge Beginning, Continuance, & Decay Estates viii. 44 For default of wel measured elections a Prince plungeth himselfe and his estate in a thousand dangers and confusions.

1659 N. Fiennes Speech Parl. 27 Jan. 1658 19 It will be found that this is no swelling vaunt, but a well measured truth.

1762 Universal Mag. Dec. 298/1 Lawful and well-measured complaisance is, in regard to baseness, flattery, and prostitution, what a young Lady, quite amiable, and well brought up, is to an old coquet.

1841 W. Wordsworth in Q. Rev. Dec. 45 Yet, as she may for each peculiar case, She [sc. the State] plants well-measured terrors in the road Of wrongful acts.

1921 Princeton Alumni Weekly 30 Mar. 567/3 He received the congratulations of the Class very gracefully and with well measured pride.

1989 B. Padhi D. H. Lawrence iii. 45 It is with a well-measured stroke of irony that Lawrence sends Hepburn's wife plunging into death.

2012 South China Morning Post (Nexis) 8 Sept. 6 Some local media and analysts viewed it as a well-measured move that demonstrated Taiwan's stance on the issue without escalating tensions.