badly

adverb

bad·​ly ˈbad-lē 

1

: in a bad manner

played badly

2

: to a great or intense degree

want something badly

see also:

badly off for not badly think badly of

Synonyms of badly

• poorly
• bad

Examples of badly in a Sentence

He played badly but I played even worse.

The failure reflects badly on the administration.

She wanted the job badly.

I'm badly in need of a vacation.

His fingers were badly frozen.

Recent Examples on the Web

The enterprise software industry faces real challenges from AI, and the crop of 2021-2022 LBOs in this space will age badly; keep an eye on Coupa, a 2022 Thoma Bravo take-private, Zendesk, and Hellman & Friedman/Permira buyouts of the same year. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 18 June 2026

He has not been seen publicly since, leading to speculation that he was badly injured in the attack. —Somayeh Malekian, ABC News, 18 June 2026

Needless to say, Google is letting them down badly. —Maggie Harrison Dupré, Futurism, 18 June 2026

After the game, the team were addressed by a group of government officials who, according to Ilunga at least, threatened them with extreme consequences if things went really badly in their game against Brazil. —Nick Miller, New York Times, 17 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing badly

• badly off
• badly off for
• not badly
• think badly of

Rhymes for badly

• gladly
• madly
• sadly
• comradely

Kids Definition

badly

adverb

bad·​ly ˈbad-lē 

worse

ˈwərs

; worst

ˈwərst

1

: in a bad manner

played badly

2

: very much

wanted the jeans badly