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Webster 1913 Edition

Mild

Mild

(mīld)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Milder
;
sup
erl.
Mildest
.]
[AS.
milde
; akin to OS.
mildi
, D. & G.
mild
, OHG.
milti
, Icel.
mildr
, Sw. & Dan.
mild
, Goth.
milds
; cf. Lith.
melas
dear, Gr. [GREEK] gladdening gifts.]
Gentle; pleasant; kind; soft; bland; clement; hence, moderate in degree or quality; – the opposite of harsh, severe, irritating, violent, disagreeable, etc.; – applied to persons and things;
as, a
mild
disposition; a
mild
eye; a
mild
air; a
mild
medicine; a
mild
insanity.
The rosy morn resigns her light
And
milder
glory to the noon.
Waller.
Adore him as a
mild
and merciful Being.
Rogers.
Mild steel
, or
Low steel
,
steel that has but little carbon in it and is not readily hardened.
Syn. – Soft; gentle; bland; calm; tranquil; soothing; pleasant; placid; meek; kind; tender; indulgent; clement; mollifying; lenitive; assuasive. See
Gentle
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Mild

MILD

,
Adj.
[The primary sense is soft or smooth, L. mollis, Eng. mellow.]
1.
Soft; gently and pleasantly affecting the senses; not violent; as a mild air; a mild sun; a mild temperature; a mild light.
The rosy morn resigns her light
And milder glory to the noon.
And with a milder gleam refreshed the sight.
2.
Not acrid, pungent, corrosive or drastic; operating gently; not acrimonious; demulcent; mollifying; lenitive; assuasive; as a mild liquor; a mild cataplasm; a mild cathartic or emetic.
3.
Tender and gentle in temper or disposition; kind; compassionate; merciful; clement; indulgent; not severe or cruel.
It teaches us to adore him as a mild and merciful Being.
4.
Not fierce, rough or angry; as mild words.
5.
Placid; not fierce; not stern; not frowning; as a mild look or aspect.
6.
Not sharp, tart, sour or bitter; moderately sweet or pleasant to the taste; as mild fruit.
7.
Calm; tranquil. When passion subsides the temper becomes mild.
8.
Moderate; not violent or intense; as a mild heat.

Definition 2024

mild

mild

English

Adjective

mild ‎(comparative milder, superlative mildest)

  1. Gentle and not easily provoked.
  2. (of a rule or punishment) Of only moderate severity.
    He received a mild sentence.‎
  3. Not keenly felt or seriously intended.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 8, in The Celebrity:
      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.
  4. (of an illness or pain) Not serious or dangerous.
    • 2002, Rachel Simon, Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey:
      I learn that mental retardation is classified in four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and profound.
    • 2003, Janice A. Gault, Ophthalmology Pearls:
      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).
  5. (of weather) Moderately warm, especially less cold than expected.
  6. (of a medicine or cosmetic) Acting gently and without causing harm.
  7. (of food, drink, or tobacco) Not sharp, or strong in flavor.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Noun

mild ‎(plural milds)

  1. (Britain) A relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour; mild ale
    • 1998, Robert Rankin, The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag (page 112)
      'Let me get this for the lady,' I said to Fange, who was pulling her a pint of mild.
    • 2011, Pete Brown, Three Sheets to the Wind
      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.

Derived terms

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse mildr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mil/, [milˀ]

Adjective

mild

  1. mild, gentle, soft
  2. light, lenient

Inflection

Inflection of mild
Positive Comparative Superlative
Common singular mild mildere mildest2
Neuter singular mildt mildere mildest2
Plural milde mildere mildest2
Definite attributive1 milde mildere mildeste
1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Dutch

Pronunciation

Adjective

mild ‎(comparative milder, superlative mildst)

  1. mild

Inflection

Inflection of mild
uninflected mild
inflected milde
comparative milder
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial mild milder het mildst
het mildste
indefinite m./f. sing. milde mildere mildste
n. sing. mild milder mildste
plural milde mildere mildste
definite milde mildere mildste
partitive milds milders —

German

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle High German milte, from Old High German milti. The modern consonantism is Central and Low German; compare Middle Low German milde.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mɪlt/

Adjective

mild ‎(comparative milder, superlative am mildesten)

  1. mild (in all of its common senses)

Declension

Comparative forms of mild
number & gender singular plural
masculine feminine neuter all genders
predicative er ist milder sie ist milder es ist milder sie sind milder
strong declension
(without article)		 nominative milderer mildere milderes mildere
genitive milderen milderer milderen milderer
dative milderem milderer milderem milderen
accusative milderen mildere milderes mildere
weak declension
(with definite article)		 nominative der mildere die mildere das mildere die milderen
genitive des milderen der milderen des milderen der milderen
dative dem milderen der milderen dem milderen den milderen
accusative den milderen die mildere das mildere die milderen
mixed declension
(with indefinite article)		 nominative ein milderer eine mildere ein milderes (keine) milderen
genitive eines milderen einer milderen eines milderen (keiner) milderen
dative einem milderen einer milderen einem milderen (keinen) milderen
accusative einen milderen eine mildere ein milderes (keine) milderen

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Old Norse mildr

Adjective

mild ‎(neuter singular mildt, definite singular and plural milde, comparative mildere, indefinite superlative mildest, definite superlative mildeste)

  1. mild, gentle, lenient

Derived terms

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse mildr

Adjective

mild ‎(neuter singular mildt, definite singular and plural milde, comparative mildare, indefinite superlative mildast, definite superlative mildaste)

  1. mild, gentle, lenient

Derived terms

References

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian milde, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz. More at mild.

Adjective

mild

  1. mild; gentle

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish milder, from Old Norse mildr, from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz, from Proto-Indo-European *meldʰ-.

Pronunciation

Adjective

mild

  1. mild, gentle
  2. bland; not hot or strong (about taste of food)
  3. weak; not corrosive or aggressive
    en mild ättiksyralösning
    a weak solution of acetic acid
  4. not extreme; about weather: neither hot nor cold

Declension

Inflection of mild
Indefinite/attributive Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular mild mildare mildast
Neuter singular milt mildare mildast
Plural milda mildare mildast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 milde mildare mildaste
All milda mildare mildaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in an attributive role.

Etymology

From Middle English milde, from Old English milde ‎(“mild”), from Proto-Germanic *mildijaz ‎(“mild”), from Proto-Indo-European *meldʰ- ‎(“to beat, pound, grind”), from Proto-Indo-European *mel- ‎(“soft, weak, tender”). Cognate with Scots mild, myld ‎(“mild”), Saterland Frisian milde ‎(“mild”), West Frisian myld ‎(“mild”), Dutch mild ‎(“mild”), Low German milde ‎(“mild”), German mild ‎(“mild”), Danish mild ‎(“mild”), Swedish mild ‎(“mild”), Icelandic mildur ‎(“mild”), Latin mollis ‎(“soft, gentle”), Lithuanian malonus ‎(“pleasing, pleasant, kind”), Old Norse mildr.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmaɪld/
  • Rhymes: -aɪld

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