1
as in lightly
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2
as in passively
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Recent Examples of mildly
The concept was already mildly stale in 1983; in 2026, jokes about Nate learning to use a toaster or a GPS come off as well past their expiration date, no matter how earnestly dopey a performance Bargatze gives.
—
David Sims, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
The latter is no small feat because supersonic speed dramatically changes the aerodynamics of an aircraft, making missile launches or bomb drops extremely difficult, to put it mildly.
—David Szondy
june 04, New Atlas, 4 June 2026
The other models looked bored and even mildly irritated, as if their time were being wasted.
—Adam Turner, Vanity Fair, 1 June 2026
That's probably putting it mildly.
—Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2026
Yet Power Ballad left me feeling not rejuvenated but mildly depressed.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 May 2026
How to Eat Soursop The mildly sweet and tangy flavor of soursop is delicious in recipes.
—Kirsten Nunez, Martha Stewart, 28 May 2026
Blueberries are sweeter, with a mildly tart taste.
—Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 25 May 2026
Most people would certainly be upset and mildly depressed.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
David Sims, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
The latter is no small feat because supersonic speed dramatically changes the aerodynamics of an aircraft, making missile launches or bomb drops extremely difficult, to put it mildly.
—David Szondy
june 04, New Atlas, 4 June 2026
The other models looked bored and even mildly irritated, as if their time were being wasted.
—Adam Turner, Vanity Fair, 1 June 2026
That's probably putting it mildly.
—Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 June 2026
Yet Power Ballad left me feeling not rejuvenated but mildly depressed.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 29 May 2026
How to Eat Soursop The mildly sweet and tangy flavor of soursop is delicious in recipes.
—Kirsten Nunez, Martha Stewart, 28 May 2026
Blueberries are sweeter, with a mildly tart taste.
—Julie Marks, Verywell Health, 25 May 2026
Most people would certainly be upset and mildly depressed.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mildly
Adverb
-
Keep the soil lightly moist and your hydrangea should grow new foliage.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
7 June 2026
-
The metal is hovering near its 200-day moving average while simultaneously testing the 50% Fibonacci retracement of its prior advance, a confluence that technical traders don't take lightly.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
Adverb
-
That’s because many Americans passively invest their 401(k) and other retirement savings through index funds—large stock portfolios tied to indexes such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 designed to broadly track the market’s performance by pooling together the stocks of the biggest public companies.—
Matteo Wong,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2026
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Many researchers have theorized that melting Ice Age glaciers likely helped passively shift the Altar Stone closer to southern England’s Salisbury Plain around 2500 BCE, shortening the transport distance for Stonehenge’s creators.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
4 June 2026
Adverb
-
On occasion, artists represent dogs gently breaking out of the comforting premises of good order.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 June 2026
-
Producers like Shungu, QThree, Mike Shabb, and Elsesser himself let their legato phrases repeat ad infinitum, gently bobbing like a dinghy in agitated waters.—
Dash Lewis,
Pitchfork,
10 June 2026
Adverb
-
Whether a man chose to use that pistol or meekly give up the money to a robber was up to him.—
Richard Selcer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Apr. 2026
-
That was checkmate, as Martinez grounded out meekly to end the season.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The document also reopened the controversy around Jannik Sinner’s doping ban, claiming that he was treated leniently by the ITIA.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
New York Times,
5 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Once the players returned to the field, Diaz inexplicably tried a Panenka-style chip and his weak penalty sailed tamely into the arms of Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
18 Jan. 2026
-
Dominik Szoboszlai had just squandered a golden chance by firing tamely into the arms of Emiliano Martinez after winning the ball back high up the field when the Kop parked their frustration and vocally declared their unwavering faith in the Dutchman.—
James Pearce,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Unlike the coolly impassive Pop artists, the Who weren’t afraid to get personal, or to let their art echo the anxious, kinky, maladjusted yammering in their own heads.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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The bezel round the screen is extremely narrow too, while the rear panel features a flat back and a side structure that coolly creates the impression of being created from a series of separate layers.—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Adverb
-
Name your value, then stand calmly by it.—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
29 May 2026
-
His sense of crafting anecdotes into top-tier material and knowing how to use his sweet-molasses pacing to calmly detonate a joke is damn near peerless.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
28 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mildly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mildly. Accessed 12 Jun. 2026.
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