You use kind of when you want to say that something or someone can be roughly described in a particular way.
[spoken, vagueness]
It was kind of sad, really.
It kind of gives us an idea of what's happening.
Synonyms: rather, quite, sort of [informal], a little More Synonyms of kind of
See full dictionary entry for kind
kind of in British English
informal
a. (adverb)
somewhat; rather
kind of tired
b. (sentence substitute)
used to express reservation or qualified assent
I figured it out. Kind of
See full dictionary entry for kind
kind of in American English
Informal
somewhat; rather; almost
See full dictionary entry for kind
Examples of 'kind of' in a sentence
kind of
I said I didn't want to get involved in any kind of public campaign.
Hugo Wilcken THE EXECUTION (2002)
It's the kind of cultural initiative we really need in Mid-Yorkshire.
Anthony Masters CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)
Had he worn the kind of Einsteinian moustache Pottle favoured, his features would have been beyond even a mother's recognition.
Anthony Masters CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)
All related terms of 'kind of'
of a kind
You can use of a kind to indicate that something is not as good as it might be expected to be, but that it seems to be the best that is possible or available .
one-of-a-kind
If you refer to someone or something as one of a kind , you mean that there is nobody or nothing else like them.
three of a kind
a set of three cards of the same denomination
be two of a kind
to be two very similar people
two/three/four of a kind
If you refer , for example , to two, three , or four of a kind , you mean two, three, or four similar people or things that seem to go well or belong together .
perpetual motion of the first kind
motion of a hypothetical mechanism that continues indefinitely without any external source of energy. It is impossible in practice because of friction
perpetual motion of the second kind
motion of a hypothetical mechanism that derives its energy from a source at a lower temperature . It is impossible in practice because of the second law of thermodynamics
(phrase)
Definition
to a certain extent
It was kind of sad, really.
Synonyms
rather
I'm afraid it's rather a long story.
quite
I was doing quite well, but I wasn't earning a lot of money.
sort of (informal)
I sort of made my own happiness.
a little
I'm getting a little tired of having to correct your mistakes.
a bit
This girl was a bit strange.
pretty (informal)
I had a pretty good idea what she was going to do.
fairly
We did fairly well.
relatively
The sums needed are relatively small.
somewhat
He concluded that Oswald was somewhat abnormal.
slightly
The house they moved to was slightly larger.
moderately
The machine operated moderately well.
to some extent
to some degree
See kind
Seerather
Nearby words of
kind of
kilter
kin
kind
kind of
kind-hearted
kindle
kindliness
Related terms of
kind of
of a kind
Synonyms of 'kind of'
kind of
Explore 'kind of' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of moderately
The machine operated moderately well.
Synonyms
reasonably,
rather,
quite,
fairly,
somewhat,
slightly,
to some extent,
to a degree,
in moderation,
within reason,
tolerably,
within limits,
passably
in the sense of pretty
Definition
fairly
I had a pretty good idea what she was going to do.
Synonyms
fairly,
rather,
quite,
kind of (informal),
somewhat,
moderately,
reasonably
in the sense of quite
Definition
to a greater than average extent
I was doing quite well, but I wasn't earning a lot of money.