kind of

phraseB1informal · an editor’s judgementNot compared — the two pools are counted one word at a time, so a phrase has no score

Kind of means to some degree, but not entirely. The same hedge as sort of, and just as common.

It appears constantly in speech, softening adjectives and admissions alike, and it is usually pronounced as kinda. Writing tends to cut it, since almost every sentence is stronger without it. The literal use is entirely different and perfectly formal, as in what kind of engine it has, where kind means type. Only the position tells you which you are hearing.

Definitions of kind of

1phrasekind ofTo some extent, but not completely.B1
“It was kind of embarrassing for everybody.”

Where it comes from

From a reanalysis of kind of in a phrase such as a kind of merry dance from “a kind + of + merry dance” (a type among merry dances) to “a + kind-of merry + dance” (a somewhat merry dance).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove, Small Talk & Everyday Phrases

First appears in chapter 1 of A Man Called Ove.

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