mild
Americanadjective
-
amiably gentle or temperate in feeling or behavior toward others.
- Antonyms:
- forceful
-
characterized by or showing such gentleness, as manners or speech.
a mild voice.
-
not cold, severe, or extreme, as air or weather.
mild breezes.
- Antonyms:
- severe
-
not sharp, pungent, or strong.
a mild flavor.
- Synonyms:
- bland
-
not acute or serious, as disease.
a mild case of flu.
-
gentle or moderate in force or effect.
mild penalties.
- Antonyms:
- harsh
-
soft; pleasant.
mild sunshine.
-
moderate in intensity, degree, or character.
mild regret.
-
British Dialect. comparatively soft and easily worked, as soil, wood, or stone.
-
Obsolete. kind or gracious.
noun
adjective
-
(of a taste, sensation, etc) not powerful or strong; bland
a mild curry
-
gentle or temperate in character, climate, behaviour, etc
-
not extreme; moderate
a mild rebuke
-
feeble; unassertive
noun
Synonym Usage
See gentle.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of mild
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English milde; cognate with German mild; akin to Greek malthakós “soft”
Explanation
A mild person is humble and meek — the opposite of bold. Mild things are also moderate in some way, like pleasantly mild weather or food that’s not spicy. Mild is the opposite of extreme. There’s nothing wild about mild. Mild comes from the Old English word milde for "gentle." Indeed, mild people are gentle. They don't brag or do cartwheels in supermarkets. They're mellow and submissive. Things can be mild too. Mild salsa doesn’t have many hot peppers. Mild can also mean slight, or small amount, as in a mild cold that doesn’t keep you home from school. If you skip school because you have a mild headache, you might just get a mild punishment.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Previous research has shown that even mild inflammation in the middle of pregnancy can affect developing offspring.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 25, 2026
“You can’t walk, go outside, every mild cold becomes a major event where you could go into respiratory failure,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It’s also mild in flavor, making it an exceptional canvas for seasoning and aromatics.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Symptoms of the allergy can range from mild to severe including skin rashes, swelling, stomach cramps, vomiting and anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Her voice was mild, her skin was copper.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
Dave said with milder winters and hotter summers, it is surprising what exotic plants will grow in the UK.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
So far, this one has been milder — bitcoin was down a little more than 50% from its peak, compared with drawdowns of as much as 80% during previous declines, according to Ferraioli.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Interior Department spokeswoman Katie Martin said the hydrogen peroxide the National Park Service is using “is a milder treatment than chlorine and is used in spas and specialty pools like natural swimming pools.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
That makes TOI-199b far milder than hot Jupiters, while also being dramatically warmer than the frozen gas giants in our own solar system, where temperatures can plunge hundreds of degrees below zero.
From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026
The sun is warm then and the winds blow milder out of the west, sometimes out of the south.
From "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell
Stage 1 is the mildest of CTE's four stages, in which headaches and loss of attention or concentration are common symptoms.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
Their first, and mildest, sees the waterway reopening within three weeks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Temperatures tend to be mildest in the fall and spring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2024
At its mildest, an aircraft may only experience slight erratic changes in altitude, but at the severe end, turbulence can cause large abrupt changes in altitude and angle of the plane.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2024
It was only the mildest wifely curiosity that prompted her to peep, for she had little interest in civic administration.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
