mildly

That's putting it mildly

That is an understatement. That's saying it without any exaggeration. A: "Gosh, it is downright balmy out!" B: "That's putting it mildly! I feel like I'm melting!" The new manager is a bit of a hothead—and that's putting it mildly!
See also: mildly, put

to put it mildly

To underemphasize or downplay something. This phrase is typically used without conjugating the infinitive "to put." A: "Oh, it was just a rain storm." B: "Yeah, to put it mildly. It was more like a hurricane!"
See also: mildly, put
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

to put it mildly

 and put it mildly
to understate something; to say something politely. (Note the variation in the examples.) She was angry at almost everyone—to put it mildly. To say she was angry is putting it mildly. To put it mildly, she was enraged.
See also: mildly, put
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

put it mildly

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]
See also: mildly, put
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

put it ˈmildly

used for showing that you could have said something much stronger or more critical, etc: He was annoyed, to put it mildly (= he was very angry). ‘She said you didn’t like it.’ ‘That’s putting it mildly — it’s hideous!’
See also: mildly, put
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • That's putting it mildly
  • that's more like it
  • that's just it
  • that's all
  • that's right
  • that's that
  • That's that!
  • (and) that's that
  • And that's that
  • That’s that!
References in periodicals archive
2003 strongly agree 31% mildly agree 17% mildly disagree 19% strongly disagree 31% don't know/refused 3%
Upon further review: support for the First Amendment has rebounded as time has elapsed since the shock of the September 11 attacks
* Fifty-two percent strongly agree with the government posting the Ten Commandments in public buildings; 18 percent mildly agree.
Poll shows support for government monitoring of religion. (People & Events)
But I was mildly offended," Contactmusic quoted Miller as telling Hollyscoop.com.
Stephen Sommers laughs off Sienna Miller's 'breast' claims
Alternate binaural bithermal testing elicited a mildly reduced response to the warm stimulus in both ears.
Vestibular ENG findings in a patient with agoraphobia
mildly euphoric, possibly anesthetized serenity reigns, along with a kind of nostalgia for structureless-ness.
BYRON KIM
We recently received a mildly flattering letter from the International Association of Business Communicators.
Flattery will get you everywhere
"The Dodge Index averaged 182 during the first half of 2000, so July and August depict a construction industry that is now moving at a mildly slower pace," said Robert A.
New construction contracting down one percent in August
She puts us in the mildly perverse position of wanting her to stand up for the integrity of her choice, however ill-advised it may seem.
Up in smoke
In a well-designed study sponsored by the Finnish company that developed the margarine, 102 people with mildly elevated cholesterol (235 or higher) who ate three pats of Benecol every day for a year lowered their cholesterol by an average of ten percent.(1) Cholesterol didn't fall in 51 people who were given a similar margarine without stanol esters.
CASE STUDY: BENECOL MARGARINE
Since fossil fuel use is the culprit in the greenhouse effect, this is at least mildly encouraging news.
Healing the Planet: Strategies for Solving the Environmental Crisis
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis decreed it is not a derogatory term because it can only be deemed to be "mildly offensive".
OFFICIAL: IT'S OK TO CALL AN ENGLISHMAN A POM
This is mildly racy, with some talk of sex, but it's not graphic, Reminiscent of the Gossip Girl series, this novel is perfect beach reading.
Abbott, Hailey. Summer boys
The tympanic membrane was in its normal position and was mildly scarred.
Spontaneous atticotomy
Although VerticalNet chairman Mark Walsh was a popular keynote speaker at NEPA's December 1999 conference in New York City, "Prospering from the Electronic Revolution," some newsletter and specialized information publishers at the time mildly resented what they perceived as the company's Khrushchevian attitude of "we're going to bury you."
Signs of VerticalNet cutbacks have "dinosaur" newsletter publishers chortling
The symbolism of any individual element is refracted by the other associations he sets up, so that every scene inspires a host of dynamic readings mildly at odds with the others.
ROBERT JESSUP