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]

---

Example Sentences

Boy Throb lacks the obvious singing talent or physical coordination of the Backstreet Boys, One Direction or BTS, to put it mildly.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

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

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

I am, to put it mildly, a less-than-ideal recruit.

From Slate • Jan. 13, 2026

“Fandom” is essentially synonymous with “unreasonable” at this point, and the “Heated Rivalry” fandom can be quite unreasonable, to put it mildly.

From Salon • Jan. 2, 2026

This is tempting bait, to put it mildly, but racial justice advocates should not take it.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander