Formal "More or less"?

Question

Could you please tell me how I could replace "more or less" to make it more formal in the following sentence:

"Those behaviours are more or less dangerous to them"

I've been looking for a correct sentence for a while, but it seems that my brain has blown a fuse. Thank you!

I would cast that sentence as "Those behaviors pose potential dangers to them.". — Jeff Zeitlin, Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 14:22
The sentence is unclear in the first place. "More or less" can mean"approximately", or "to some extent", or even, "EITHER more OR less dangerous than... [something else already mentioned]". Which one do you mean? — ArchContrarian, Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 14:25
@ArchContrarian is right. Approximately is a good formal synonym for more or less. Neither makes much sense in your sentence. Moreover, the plural form of behavior sticks out to me. Please clarify what you want to convey. — Tushar Raj, Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 14:29
Oh right, I suppose I made a wrong translation from my native language (sorry). In that case I suppose I will have to change the entire sentence, but I still don't know how to. I want to convey the idea that behaviours (different kinds of consumer behaviours, that is) can be slightly dangerous or very dangerous. — CmcmA, Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 14:33
'Those behaviours are comparatively dangerous to them'. 'Those behaviours are relatively dangerous to them.' In my view ,the choice between 'more or less' and my two suggestions are a matter of style and personal opinion. — Nigel J, Commented Mar 6, 2018 at 14:59

docwebhead · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-06 16:31:49Z

0

I'd recast it, but I think formal usage would be:

Those behaviours are dangerous to them to a greater or lesser extent (or degree)

answered Mar 6, 2018 at 16:31

docwebhead

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