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bad

play
adjective \ ˈbad \

Definition of bad

worse play \ˈwərs\; worst play \ˈwərst\
1 a :failing to reach an acceptable standard :poor
  • a bad repair job
b :unfavorable
  • make a bad impression
c :not fresh :spoiled
  • bad fish
d :not sound :dilapidated
  • the house was in bad condition
2 a :morally objectionable :evil
  • bad men
b :mischievous, disobedient
  • a bad dog
3 :inadequate or unsuited to a purpose
  • a bad plan
  • bad lighting
4 :disagreeable, unpleasant
  • bad news
5 a :injurious, harmful
  • a bad influence
b :serious, severe
  • in bad trouble
  • a bad cough
6 :incorrect, faulty
  • bad grammar
7 a :suffering pain or distress
  • felt generally bad
b :unhealthy, diseased
  • bad teeth
8 :sorrowful, sorry
  • feels bad about forgetting to call
9 a :invalid, void
  • a bad check
b :not able to be collected
  • a bad debt
10 badder; baddest slang
a :good, great
  • one of the baddest songwriters to be found anywhere
  • —Black Collegian
b :tough, mean
  • the baddest guy on the block
—

badness

noun
— not bad
:fairly or acceptably good
  • She eyes the other girls' clothes. A bright orange skirt. Good. A black cocktail dress with a gold belt. Not bad. A white dress with a blousy, frilly top. Hideous.
  • —Karl Taro Greenfeld
:quite good or impressive
  • For the second time in three games, Patrick Roy blanked the Dallas Stars. Not bad for a player who insists he is not a shutout goalie.
  • —The New York Times

See bad defined for English-language learners

See bad defined for kids

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Examples of bad in a Sentence

  1. The house is in bad condition.

  2. a letter written in bad French

  3. He had a bad day at the office.

  4. I was having a bad dream.

  5. She made a very bad impression on her future colleagues.

  6. We've been having bad weather lately.

  7. The medicine left a bad taste in his mouth.

  8. It's a bad time for business right now.

  9. Things are looking pretty bad for us at this point.

  10. I have a bad feeling about this.

Recent Examples of bad from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bad.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bad

Middle English badde, bad, of obscure origin
Note: The Middle English word apparently appears as a surname or element in surnames in the 13th century, but as an independent adjective not before the 14th century. The supposed connection with the marginally attested Old English words bæddel, bædling (vowel length uncertain) "hermaphrodite, homosexual" is possible but uncertain (direct descent of badde from bæddel through phonetic reduction is unlikely).

bad Synonyms

Synonyms
bastard, bush, bush-league, crummy (also crumby), deficient, dissatisfactory, ill, inferior, lame, lousy, off, paltry, poor, punk, sour, suboptimal, subpar, substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wack [slang], wanting, wretched, wrong, below (or under) par, from hunger
Antonyms
acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, fine, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, standard, tolerable
Related Words
abysmal, atrocious, awful, bitchin' [slang], brutal, damnable, deplorable, detestable, disastrous, dreadful, execrable, gnarly [slang], horrendous, horrible, pathetic, stinky, sucky [slang], terrible, unspeakable; defective, faulty, flawed; egregious, flagrant, gross; bum, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy [slang], cut-rate, junky, lesser, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, reprehensible, rotten, rubbishy, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, trashy; abominable, odious, vile; useless, valueless, worthless; inadequate, insufficient, lacking, meager (or meagre), mean, miserly, niggardly, scanty, shabby, short, skimp, skimpy, spare, stingy; miscreant, scurrilous, villainous; counterfeit, fake, phony (also phoney), sham
Near Antonyms
classic, classical; A1, bang-up, banner, boss [slang], capital, choice, crackerjack, dandy, divine, excellent, exceptional, fabulous, fine, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-test, jim-dandy, keen, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, par excellence, perfect, premium, prime, sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, unsurpassed, wonderful; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, special, sufficient; average, borderline, fair, mediocre, middling, minimal, so-so, unexceptional; suitable, useful, worthy; gratifying, satisfying
2

bad

noun

Definition of bad

1 :something that is bad
  • There's more good than bad in him.
  • Take the good with the bad.
2 :an evil or unhappy state
  • Things went from bad to worse.
3 :fault 4
  • the mistake was my bad

See bad defined for English-language learners

Examples of bad in a Sentence

  1. There's more good than bad in him.

  2. We need to teach our children the difference between good and bad.

  3. teaching children the difference between the good and the bad

  4. He believes that the good go to heaven when they die and the bad go to hell.

Recent Examples of bad from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bad.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bad

Middle English badde, noun derivative of badde 1bad

bad Synonyms

Synonyms
evil, evildoing, ill, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wrong
Antonyms
good, morality, right, virtue
Related Words
atrociousness, atrocity, badness, balefulness, darkness, depravedness, devilishness, diabolism, enormity, evilness, heinousness, iniquitousness, satanism, sinfulness, vileness, wickedness; devilry (or deviltry), fiendishness; cancer, canker, decay, rot, squalor; corruption, debauchery, degeneracy, depravity, indecency, malefaction, perversion, pervertedness, scurrility, scurrilousness; abomination, anathema, taboo (also tabu)
Near Antonyms
decency, goodness, honesty, integrity, probity, rectitude, uprightness; goodness, righteousness, virtuousness
3

bad

adverb

Definition of bad

:badly
  • not doing so bad
  • doesn't want it bad enough

See bad defined for English-language learners

Examples of bad in a Sentence

  1. He hasn't succeeded because he doesn't want it bad enough.

  2. you didn't do too bad on the treadmill test

Recent Examples of bad from the Web

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bad.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bad

adverbial derivative of 1bad

bad Synonyms

Synonyms
badly, deficiently, inadequately, lousily, poorly, unacceptably, unsatisfactorily, wretchedly
Antonyms
acceptably, adequately, all right, fine, good, nicely, OK (or okay), palatably, passably, satisfactorily, so-so, tolerably, well
Related Words
abysmally, atrociously, awfully, damnably, deplorably, detestably, disastrously, dreadfully, execrably, horrendously, horribly, horrifically, rottenly, terribly; intolerably, unbearably; inappropriately, incorrectly, indecently, reprehensibly, unsuitably, vulgarly; naughtily; egregiously, flagrantly, grossly; miserably, shoddily, sleazily, trashily, unspeakably; abominably, odiously, vilely; inferiorly, insufficiently, meagerly, meanly, niggardly, scantily, scantly, shabbily, skimpily, sparely, stingily
Near Antonyms
appropriately, congruously, correctly, decently, decorously, felicitously, fittingly, meetly, rightly, seemly, suitably; exactly, faithfully, ideally, precisely, respectably; gratifyingly, satisfyingly

BAD Defined for English Language Learners

bad

play
adjective

Definition of bad for English Language Learners

  • : low or poor in quality

  • : not correct or proper

  • : not pleasant, pleasing, or enjoyable

bad

noun

Definition of bad for English Language Learners

  • : morally bad forces or influences

  • the bad : the unpleasant things that happen to people

  • : things that are morally wrong

BAD Defined for Kids

bad

play
adjective \ ˈbad \

Definition of bad for Students

worse \ˈwərs\; worst \ˈwərst\
1 :not good :poor
  • bad weather
  • bad work
2 :not favorable
  • a bad report
bad times
3 :not fresh or sound
  • bad meat
4 :not good or right :evil
  • a bad person
5 :not behaving properly
  • a bad dog
6 :not enough
  • bad lighting
7 :unpleasant
  • bad news
8 :harmful
  • bad for the health
9 :serious 2, severe
  • a bad cold
  • in bad trouble
10 :not correct
  • bad spelling
bad manners
11 :not cheerful or calm
  • a bad mood
12 :not healthy
  • bad teeth
  • He felt bad from a cold.
13 :sorry 1
  • I felt bad about my mistake.
14 :not skillful a bad musician
—

badness

noun

Synonym Discussion of bad

bad, evil, and wicked mean not doing or being what is right. bad is used of anyone or anything that a person might dislike or find fault with.
    • He had to stay after school for bad behavior.
evil is a more powerful word than bad and is used for something of bad moral character.
    • Criminals were planning evil deeds.
wicked is used of someone or something that is truly and deliberately bad.
    • He was a very wicked ruler who caused many people harm.

Law Dictionary

bad

adjective

legal Definition of bad

:not valid :void
  • bad notice
; especially :not covered by sufficient funds
  • a bad check

Learn More about bad

  1. See words that rhyme with bad Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for bad Spanish Central: Translation of bad Nglish: Translation of bad for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of bad for Arabic speakers

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Examples: bad in a Sentence