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1
: in a bad manner
played badly
2
: to a great or intense degree
want something badly
Phrases
badly off for
British
: strongly in need of (something or someone)
It may seem pie in the sky in the current financial climate, but few could argue that for a city of its size and prestige, Edinburgh is badly off for large-scale sports facilities.—The Evening News (Edinburgh)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—Tom Teepen
: to have an unfavorable or low opinion of (someone or something)
"You shouldn't think badly of the town because of this," said Brogan. "It is a good town."—Neil Gaiman
Synonyms
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
Where else do total strangers gather to cheer and applaud each other for doing things badly?
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2024
Conditions in Gaza have deteriorated badly after five months of intense bombing by Israel.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024
His blond hair is badly receding, but what’s left of it is long and pulled back into an unkempt ponytail.
—Lizz Schumer, Peoplemag, 14 Mar. 2024
But the other victim, a woman, was badly decomposed and police weren't able to determine her hair or eye color.
—Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 13 Mar. 2024
To improve his electoral prospects, Biden badly needs to turn those figures around.
—John Cassidy, The New Yorker, 5 Mar. 2024
Democrats worry Hurtado could take away votes from Salas, giving the top two spots to Republicans in a seat Democrats need badly to win to regain control of the House.
—Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2024
Leonsis also diplomatically pointed out one of the uncomfortable truths of the Chinatown issue — the fact that public safety in the area around Capital One has deteriorated badly in a way that may be scaring off potential customers.
—Ashraf Khalil, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024
California voters will decide March 5 whether to pump billions more dollars into combating the nation’s worst homelessness crisis, an investment Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom argues will finally provide the housing and treatment so badly needed by tens of thousands of homeless people.
—Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 1 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'badly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of badly was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing badly
Dictionary Entries Near badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.
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
More from Merriam-Webster on badly
Nglish: Translation of badly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of badly for Arabic Speakers
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