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)
The Evening News (Edinburgh)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—Tom Teepen
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
Neil GaimanSynonyms
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
China’s growing output of solar panels led their price to drop 80% between 2008 and 2013, badly undercutting U.S. manufacturers.
—Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
Financial assets in general have historically fared badly during inflation booms, while tangible assets like houses have held their value better.
—Jonathan Mahler Edoardo Ballerini Emma Kehlbeck Joel Thibodeau, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
The Heat’s overall clutch shooting has regressed badly.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Smaller European exporters may also be badly hit, according to Southall, because British businesses may ask these exporters to foot some of the extra costs.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors and legal experts have said such claims badly misstate the law, which was passed to ensure that presidential records would be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of a presidency.
—Perry Stein, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Disney fans agree that this section of the park badly needs change.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Everything went pretty much as usual (badly) until owner Tom Werner had a fire sale, and Moores, a software multi-millionaire, blessedly bought the team in 1994.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2024
Ann Scott Tyson, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Apr. 2024
Financial assets in general have historically fared badly during inflation booms, while tangible assets like houses have held their value better.
—Jonathan Mahler Edoardo Ballerini Emma Kehlbeck Joel Thibodeau, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024
The Heat’s overall clutch shooting has regressed badly.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 4 Apr. 2024
To badly paraphrase Adorno: After this, no more cruise stories.
—Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024
Smaller European exporters may also be badly hit, according to Southall, because British businesses may ask these exporters to foot some of the extra costs.
—Anna Cooban, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
Prosecutors and legal experts have said such claims badly misstate the law, which was passed to ensure that presidential records would be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration at the end of a presidency.
—Perry Stein, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024
Disney fans agree that this section of the park badly needs change.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
Everything went pretty much as usual (badly) until owner Tom Werner had a fire sale, and Moores, a software multi-millionaire, blessedly bought the team in 1994.
—Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 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.
Dictionary Entries Near badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids 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
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