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Mild

 - 4 dictionary results

mild

[mahyld] adjective, -er, -est, noun
–adjective
1. amiably gentle or temperate in feeling or behavior toward others.
2. characterized by or showing such gentleness, as manners or speech: a mild voice.
3. not cold, severe, or extreme, as air or weather: mild breezes.
4. not sharp, pungent, or strong: a mild flavor.
5. not acute or serious, as disease: a mild case of flu.
6. gentle or moderate in force or effect: mild penalties.
7. soft; pleasant: mild sunshine.
8. moderate in intensity, degree, or character: mild regret.
9. British Dialect. comparatively soft and easily worked, as soil, wood, or stone.
10. Obsolete. kind or gracious.
–noun
11. British. beer that has a blander taste than bitter.

Origin:
bef. 900; ME, OE milde; c. G mild; akin to Gk malthakós soft


mildly, adverb
mildness, noun


1. soft, pleasant. See gentle. 3. temperate, moderate, clement. 4. bland.


1. forceful. 3. severe. 6. harsh.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Mild
mild   (mīld)   
adj.   mild·er, mild·est
  1. Gentle or kind in disposition, manners, or behavior.

    1. Moderate in type, degree, effect, or force: a mild pipe tobacco; a mild sedative.

    2. Not extreme: a mild winter storm.

    3. Warm and full of sunshine; pleasant: a mild spring day; mild weather in June.

  2. Not severe or acute: a mild fever.

  3. Easily molded, shaped, or worked; malleable: mild steel.

intr.v.   mild·ed, mild·ing, milds
Texas & Virginia To diminish or decrease. Used of the wind or a storm. See Regional Note at fair1.

[Middle English, from Old English milde; see mel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
mild'ly adv., mild'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

mild 
O.E. milde "gentle, merciful," from P.Gmc. *milthjaz- (cf. O.N. mildr, O.Fris. milde, Du. mild, O.H.G. milti, Ger. milde "mild," Goth. mildiþa "kindness"), from PIE base *meld-/*mld- "softness" (cf. Gk. malthon "weakling," O.Ir. meldach "tender," Skt. mrdh "to neglect," also "to be moist"). Related to melt. Originally of persons and powers; of the weather from c.1400, of disease from 1744. Phrase to put it mildly is attested from 1929.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mild
Pronunciation: 'mI(&)ld
Function: adjective
1 : moderate in action or effect mild drug>
2 : not severe
mild case of the flu>
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