Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Gentle or kind in disposition, manners, or behavior.
- adj. Moderate in type, degree, effect, or force: a mild pipe tobacco; a mild sedative.
- adj. Not extreme: a mild winter storm.
- adj. Warm and full of sunshine; pleasant: a mild spring day; mild weather in June.
- adj. Not severe or acute: a mild fever.
- adj. Easily molded, shaped, or worked; malleable: mild steel.
- v. Texas & Virginia To diminish or decrease. Used of the wind or a storm. See Regional Note at fair1.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Possessing softness or gentleness of disposition; soft-mannered; kindly disposed; good-tempered.
- Exercising gentleness in conduct or action; not harsh or unfeeling; considerate; conciliatory.
- Marked by softness or kindness; gentle in character, method, or appearance; manifesting or expressing mildness; mollifying; tranquil; placid: as, mild words or manners; a mild rebuke; a mild aspect.
- Gentle or moderate in force, operation, or effect; not harsh or irritating; emollient; bland; genial: as, mild medicine; mild winds; a mild remedy.
- Moderate in quality or degree; of mitigated force; weak in kind; free from harshness or roughness; hence, not hard to endure, manage, etc.: as, mild fruit; mild dissipation; mild efforts.
- Hence, new; not having gained the taste that comes by keeping: said of malt liquors: as, mild ale
- See the quotation.
- [Mild forms the first element in a number of compounds of obvious signification: for example, mild-flavored, mild-looking, mild-mannered, mild-spirited, mild-tempered.]
- n. Mildness; gentleness.
- To become mild.
- To make merciful.
- To pity; pardon.
Wiktionary
- adj. Gentle; pleasant; kind; soft; bland; clement; hence, moderate in degree or quality; -- the opposite of harsh, severe, irritating, violent, disagreeable, etc.; -- applied to persons and things; as, a mild disposition; a mild eye; a mild air; a mild medicine; a mild insanity.
- n. A relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour; mild ale
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. Gentle; pleasant; kind; soft; bland; clement; hence, moderate in degree or quality; -- the opposite of
harsh ,severe ,irritating ,violent ,disagreeable , etc.; -- applied to persons and things
WordNet 3.0
- adj. mild and pleasant
- adj. humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness
- adj. moderate in type or degree or effect or force; far from extreme
Etymologies
- Middle English, from Old English milde; see mel-1 in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“But it wasn't until she began talking with fellow patients that she heard the term mild traumatic brain injury.”
“Some say the term mild traumatic brain injury best describes what happens to the brain.”
“Testing by the VA found 44,500 of 570,000 Iraq and Afghanistan vets had suffered what it called mild traumatic brain injuries.”
The Wall Street Journal: For Wounded Vet, Love Pierces the Fog of War
“And we separate asthma into what we refer to as mild intermittent.”
“He has twice before been treated for this mild, what he calls mild heart attacks, and again, at the close of campaign had this catheterization procedure and has been told to change his diet a bit.”
“Well, you know your father has never much approved of gambling, beyond what he calls a mild flutter; so when he found she was throwing away several thousands a year ----”
“Father Biard (1611) has left us an interesting account of this tribe, which he characterized as mild and peaceful in temperament.”
“WASHINGTON Reuters - The head of Standard & Poor's sovereign ratings, David Beers told "Fox News Sunday" he did not expect "that much impact" when global markets open on Monday due to what he called a "mild deterioration" in the U.S. credit standing to AA-plus from top-tier AAA.”
“He has what we call mild cognitive impairment," Murray said.”
“Three people sitting near us were listening and one of them mouthed the word "mild" to me.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘mild’.

she ' "Now one can breathe more easily," said the Knight, putting back his shaggy hair with both hands, and turning his gentle face and large mild eyes to Alice. She thought she had never seen such a strange-looking soldier in all her life. ' Jul 18, 2008