Advertisement
Advertisement
badly
[ bad-lee ]
adverb
- in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way:
The car runs badly.
- in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner:
a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly.
- unfavorably:
His neighbors spoke badly of him. The weather turned out badly for the cruise.
- in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way.
- in a disobedient, naughty, or ethically or socially wrong way:
He treats his parents badly.
- very much; to a great extent or degree:
a house badly in need of repair; to want something badly.
- severely; direly:
to be injured badly.
- with great distress, resentment, regret, or emotional display:
She took the news of her mother's death badly.
badly
/ ˈæɪ /
adverb
- poorly; defectively; inadequately
the chair is badly made
- unfavourably; unsuccessfully; unfortunately
our scheme worked out badly
- severely; gravely
he was badly hurt
- incorrectly or inaccurately
to speak German badly
- improperly; naughtily; wickedly
to behave badly
- without humanity; cruelly
to treat someone badly
- very much (esp in the phrases need badly , badly in need of , want badly )
- regretfully
he felt badly about it
- badly offpoor; impoverished
adjective
- dialect.postpositive ill; poorly
Usage Note
Word History and Origins
Idioms and Phrases
- badly off. bad 1( def 41 ).
Example Sentences
Doncic, a monster in the first quarter of the first two games of the series, looked badly uncomfortable, starting one for six from the field.
Both of these teams are badly in need of a win - Brighton have gone five games without a victory, while West Ham are on a run of six.
Her body was so badly decomposed that pathologists could not ascertain the cause of death.
The report also described the adjudication system as being in "disarray", which would send a message of "if you behave badly here there isn't going to be a consequence", leading to prisoners feeling unsafe.
Yue Yue, 28, is among those to have surgery that went badly wrong.
Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse