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
Related Words
See gentle.
Other Word Forms
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.
Two crew members, one British and one Dutch, have acute respiratory symptoms: one mild and one severe, the operator said.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
AI, is, of course, a major driver of this earnings trend as capital expenditure here is booming while in the rest of the economy is “lingering in mild recession.”
From MarketWatch • May 5, 2026
And on Monday, the ship operator said two crew members — one British, one Dutch — had acute respiratory symptoms, one mild and one severe but both requiring urgent medical care.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
U.S. natural gas futures settled lower as mild weather keeps a lid on demand.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
Mama wore her black dress without her hat this time, and the breeze, mild for early December, ruffled her pressed hair.
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
