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”; 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.
In Melbourne this year, he survived a testing third-round match against American world number 85 Eliot Spizzirri after cramping badly when temperatures crept towards 40C.
From BBC • May 23, 2026
Those steps could be vital to an agreement delivering the kind of economic benefits for Tehran its stalled economy badly needs.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026
Meanwhile, hundreds of Iranian drones and missiles have badly damaged Kuwait’s oil infrastructure, hurt U.S. military bases and sent American diplomats and thousands of troops stationed in the country packing.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 20, 2026
It gradually got worse and after waking up in the middle of the night choking and throwing up he said he knew "there was something badly wrong".
From BBC • May 19, 2026
I accompany my singing with the tambourine, and the music fills the air with the hope and courage we need so badly at this moment.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
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.
