badly
Americanadverb
-
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.
adjective
idioms
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
-
poor; impoverished
adjective
Usage
In the sense “very much,” badly is fully standard: He needs help badly. See also bad 1.
Etymology
Origin of badly
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English baddeli, baddeliche, badli(che) “wickedly, evilly, poorly”; see origin at bad 1, -ly
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Badly, would be the answer for most of us.
From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026
Badly slumping Freddie Freeman was bailed out of an 0-and-2 count on a wild slurve from Soroka that hit his foot.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 22, 2025
Sheila Wray Gregoire, a Christian critic of purity culture, responded on her Bare Marriage podcast with an episode titled, "Why Evangelical Honeymoons Often Go So Badly."
From Salon • Apr. 1, 2024
Badly injured from a fight, a man wakes up in the Calais Jungle, a ramshackle camp for migrants in northern France.
From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2024
Badly has now become an adjective in its own right, meaning “sorrowful” or “regretful.”
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
