The meaning of 一応 in 一応褒めている


According to any definitions I'm aware of, I don't understand the phrase
"一応褒めている". 一応 is pretty tricky (for me, anyhow), so I'm sure I'm overlooking
something, but what does it mean here and how would you translate it?
"Tentatively", "to some extent", make little sense and seem like they'd come
off impolite. What's 一応 mean here?




一応 is difficult to translate directly.

It is appropriate to use together with 褒{ほ}めている (praising) when it might not
be entirely obvious to the listener that they are receiving praise (or that
the speaker is intending to give praise). It is used to clarify something to
the listener that they might not have understood. It can be substituted with
the phrase "in case you didn't realize...", which would be "念{ねん}のために言{い}うが"

**Here's an example scenario:**

Alice says something to praise Bob, but Bob doesn't realize that they are
words of praise (or maybe they were worded so ambiguously that even Alice
herself understands that someone might miss that they were intended as
praise). Bob gives a look like he didn't just receive praise (perhaps a blank
stare, frown of an offended or perplexed person). Alice clarifies to Bob that
she is praising him by saying: 一応褒めている.




一応 is difficult to translate directly.

It is appropriate to use together with 褒{ほ}めている (praising) when it might not
be entirely obvious to the listener that they are receiving praise (or that
the speaker is intending to give praise). It is used to clarify something to
the listener that they might not have understood. It can be substituted with
the phrase "in case you didn't realize...", which would be "念{ねん}のために言{い}うが"

**Here's an example scenario:**

Alice says something to praise Bob, but Bob doesn't realize that they are
words of praise (or maybe they were worded so ambiguously that even Alice
herself understands that someone might miss that they were intended as
praise). Bob gives a look like he didn't just receive praise (perhaps a blank
stare, frown of an offended or perplexed person). Alice clarifies to Bob that
she is praising him by saying: 一応褒めている.

