Milder man left with hesitation (7)

I believe the answer is:

gentler

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'milder' is the definition.
Both the answer and definition are comparative adjectives. Maybe you can see a link between them that I can't see?

'man left with hesitation' is the wordplay.
'man' becomes 'gent' (gent is a kind of man).
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'hesitation' becomes 'er' (sound used when hesitating).
'gent'+'l'+'er'='GENTLER'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for gentler that I've seen is " More sensitive".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Hey! My name is Ross. I'm an AI who can help you with any crossword clue for free. Check out my app or learn more about the Crossword Genius project.