badly

[ bad-lee ]

adverb

, worse, worst.

1. in a defective, incorrect, or undesirable way:

   The car runs badly.

2. in an unsatisfactory, inadequate, or unskilled manner:

   a vague, badly written letter; He paints badly.

3. unfavorably:

   His neighbors spoke badly of him. The weather turned out badly for the cruise.

4. in a wicked, evil, or morally or legally wrong way.
5. in a disobedient, naughty, or ethically or socially wrong way:

   He treats his parents badly.

6. very much; to a great extent or degree:

   a house badly in need of repair; to want something badly.

7. severely; direly:

   to be injured badly.

8. with great distress, resentment, regret, or emotional display:

   She took the news of her mother's death badly.

adjective

1. in ill health; sick:

   He felt badly.

2. sorry; regretful:

   I feel badly about your reaction to my remark.

3. dejected; downcast.

badly

/ ˈbædlɪ /

adverb

1. poorly; defectively; inadequately

   the chair is badly made

2. unfavourably; unsuccessfully; unfortunately

   our scheme worked out badly

3. severely; gravely

   he was badly hurt

4. incorrectly or inaccurately

   to speak German badly

5. improperly; naughtily; wickedly

   to behave badly

6. without humanity; cruelly

   to treat someone badly

7. very much (esp in the phrases need badly , badly in need of , want badly )
8. regretfully

   he felt badly about it

9. badly off
   poor; impoverished

adjective

1. dialect.
   postpositive ill; poorly

Usage Note

In the sense “very much,” badly is fully standard: He needs help badly. bad ¹.

Word History and Origins

Origin of badly¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English baddeli, baddeliche, badli(che) “wickedly, evilly, poorly”; bad ¹, -ly

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. badly off. bad ¹( def 41 ).

Example Sentences

“If you ticket individuals with other sorts of mechanisms, then you could start to get it from the supply side and ensure if businesses are behaving badly it falls on everyone who participates,” he said.

From Voice of San Diego

The Chiefs hurt themselves badly with mistakes, including a key drop from tight end Travis Kelce on a third down.

From Washington Post

All his life doing whatever he could to serve others gladly, to make their lives go less badly.

From Washington Post

Meanwhile, Doncic hasn’t quite lived up to sky-high expectations, and his sidekick, Kristaps Porzingis, has struggled badly since he returned from October knee surgery.

From Washington Post

Fucso has gone back to the gym she missed badly and uses the treadmill and weights.

From Washington Post

The rage that Marvin has embodied, a man on the edge of eruption, is always a badly wounded man.

From The Daily Beast

All of us can readily conjure up horror scenarios by the isolated person acting badly.

From The Daily Beast

He then saw two badly wounded uniformed officers in the front of a radio car.

From The Daily Beast

Kurnosova badly wants the change to take place democratically.

From The Daily Beast

On her first entrance, Hitchcock says, “She looks old, they've shot her badly.”

From The Daily Beast

Still, gambling seemed to be made particularly fascinating here, and he wanted to be fascinated, wanted it badly.

From Project Gutenberg

The evening was cold and raw and so dark that it was almost impossible to distinguish people on the badly lighted little platform.

From Project Gutenberg

All badly insert pure (dissyllabic) before flat; but smothe has two syllables.

From Project Gutenberg

All were badly and insufficiently fed, as much from disorganized commissariat arrangements as from actual want of supplies.

From Project Gutenberg

A country parish clerk, being asked how the inscriptions on the tombs in the church-yard were so badly spelled?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• deeply
• greatly
• hard
• painfully
• seriously
• severely