What is the formal way to say “a bit”?

Question

What is the formal way to say *a bit* in an essay, for example, in the sentence beginning “It is 'a bit' different from”? Is "a little" formal enough?

Answer 1

You could try "somewhat" as in "somewhat different from" or you could rephrase: "there are subtle differences", "there are few differences", "subtle differences include..."

Answer 2

You can omit the phrase entirely and just say "It is different from..."