put it mildly

Idioms  

1. Understate, say without exaggeration, as in It's a fairly long way to walk, to put it mildly—twenty miles or so. [First half of 1900s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

put it mildly

As a Black kid growing up in the Michigan suburbs in the ’90s, my K-12 education on slavery was like that of many other Americans — both concise and, to put it mildly, imprecise.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

"It was terrifying, to put it mildly," says the group's head Iryna Didur.

From BBC ● Apr. 25, 2026

Neither of those were great times to be buying stocks, to put it mildly.

From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026

Crockett is a controversial figure, to put it mildly.

From Slate ● Dec. 10, 2025

Mount Washington sometimes gets a little gusty, to put it mildly, and this was a particularly breezy day.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson