mild

comparative milder · superlative mildest · alternative obsolete milde

1. Gentle and not easily angered.

   a mild man

2. Of only moderate severity; not strict.

   He received a mild sentence.

3. Conciliatory, nonpolemical; gentle in tone.

   Between 1890 and 1910 his political writing became distinctly milder in tone as his mind moved in the direction of evolutionary socialism.

   1978 [1976], Leszek Kołakowski, translated by P[aul] S[teven] Falla, Main Currents of Marxism, volume II: The Golden Age, Oxford: Clarendon Press, translation of Główne nurty marksizmu: rozwój (in Polish), →ISBN, →OCLC, page 196

4. Not overly felt or seriously intended.

   I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.

   1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter VIII, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

5. Not serious or dangerous.

   I learn that mental retardation is classified in four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and profound.

   2002, Rachel Simon, Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey

   1 more example

   NPDR can be further classified as mild, moderate, severe, or very severe, which can help predict how quickly the patient may progress to proliferative (neovascular) diabetic retinopathy (PDR).

   2003, Janice A. Gault, Ophthalmology Pearls

6. Moderately warm, especially less cold than expected.

   a mild day

   1 more example

   mild weather

7. Acting gently and without causing harm.

   a mild anaesthetic

8. drink; or a drug; drink; or a drugNot sharp or bitter; not strong in flavor.

   a mild curry

plural milds · alternative obsolete milde

1. UKA relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour; mild ale

   'Let me get this for the lady,' I said to Fange, who was pulling her a pint of mild.

   1998, Robert Rankin, The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag, page 112

   1 more example

   But Stella shouldn't really be drunk in pints the same way our dads used to drink bitter or mild that was effectively half as strong.

   2011, Pete Brown, Three Sheets to the Wind