mildly
part of speech
adverb
meaning for a pupil
1) Slightly; a little; not very much: mildly annoyed. tree →
2) In a gentle, calm way: she spoke mildly. tree →
3) to put it mildly: said when the truth is even stronger than your words. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday talk «mildly» makes a word weaker: «mildly interesting», «mildly spicy». «To put it mildly» is a common phrase meaning it was actually much worse or bigger: «The test was hard, to put it mildly.» In science, «mildly acidic» means a little acidic.
examples
- The curry is only mildly spicy. tree →
- I was mildly surprised when he turned up. tree →
- «Please be quiet,» said the teacher mildly. tree →
- The film was mildly funny. tree →
- The trip was a disaster, to put it mildly. tree →
- Lemon juice is mildly acidic. tree →
- The cut was mildly painful. tree →
- He was mildly annoyed when his pen ran out. tree →
- “I came with him,” said Tuan mildly. tree →
note
Adverb from «mild». Do not confuse with «wildly» (very, uncontrollably), which looks similar but means the opposite strength. «To put it mildly» is a fixed phrase.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «mildly» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.