badly
Americanadverb
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in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way.
The car runs badly.
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in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner.
a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly.
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unfavorably.
His neighbors spoke badly of him. The weather turned out badly for the cruise.
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in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way.
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in a disobedient, naughty, or ethically or socially wrong way.
He treats his parents badly.
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very much; to a great extent or degree.
a house badly in need of repair; to want something badly.
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severely; direly.
to be injured badly.
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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
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unfavourably; unsuccessfully; unfortunately
our scheme worked out badly
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severely; gravely
he was badly hurt
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incorrectly or inaccurately
to speak German badly
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improperly; naughtily; wickedly
to behave badly
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without humanity; cruelly
to treat someone badly
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very much (esp in the phrases need badly , badly in need of , want badly )
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regretfully
he felt badly about it
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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”; 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.
England said they were badly prepared for the Ashes and now admit to being underprepared for this group stage.
From BBC
She also described regularly getting the train to the capital for auditions, some of which "went really, really badly", before returning to the comfort of home.
From BBC
The Waratahs are hoping for a better season than last year when they finished eighth and badly missed the spark that Jorgensen can bring.
From Barron's
The growth in Medicare Advantage, the private-plan alternative to traditional Medicare, has slowed in 2026 as plans quit unprofitable markets and trimmed benefits, but subscriber gains haven’t faltered as badly as expected.
From MarketWatch
But Milan was still badly placed and had lost his lead-out men as the sprinters jostled for position going into the final 500 metres.
From Barron's
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.
