Timeline for Is saying "mildly/slightly disagree" proper English?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
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| Oct 11, 2023 at 17:52 | history | migrated | from english.stackexchange.com (revisions) | ||
| Oct 11, 2023 at 15:57 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @KateBunting: somewhat and tend to seem quite natural as tickbox choices on Yougov, but I wouldn't normally expect to hear/use terms like that (OR slightly, mildly) in a face-to-face "nitpicking disagreement" context. In that situation, if the person I was taking issue with had higher status, it'd be something "polite, hesitant, deferential" such as With respect, I can't agree completely. Of course, if he had lower status, I'd just say I don't think so, Not quite, or Not exactly. | |
| Oct 11, 2023 at 15:45 | comment | added | Kate Bunting | @FumbleFingers - OK, I must have been thinking of somewhat. | |
| Oct 11, 2023 at 15:26 | comment | added | FumbleFingers | @KateBunting: I do Yougov surveys, and initially I thought I might often see slightly disagree in that type of question. But you gotta check, so I did a few site-specific searches. Google currently finds no matches at all for slightly disagree on yougov.co.uk. There are 5 instances of somewhat disagree and 129 instances of tend to disagree. I didn't bother searching for mildly disagree, but I'll eat my hat if that occurs more than once or twice (I'd be quite surprised if it even occurred once). | |
| Oct 11, 2023 at 14:12 | comment | added | Kate Bunting | I think I've seen 'slightly disagree' in those online opinion polls - "Do you (1) agree, (2) slightly agree..." and the like. | |
| Oct 11, 2023 at 13:38 | comment | added | Stuart F | slightly is definitely an intensifier (even listed on the Wikipedia article), and mildly is often used in that fashion (just as mild is also used as an adjective of degree in food contexts.) | |
| Oct 11, 2023 at 13:00 | comment | added | psmears | "I respectfully disagree" - now that's fighting talk! | |
| Oct 11, 2023 at 12:57 | comment | added | tchrist | I'm somewhat perplexed by the apparent attraction of mannerly adverbs in a situation calling for degree adverbs — intensifiers, to some — instead. | |
| Oct 11, 2023 at 12:49 | history | answered | FumbleFingers | CC BY-SA 4.0 |