bad
adjective
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\;
worst\ ˈwərst
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Definition of bad
(Entry 1 of 3)
bad
nounDefinition of bad (Entry 2 of 3)
bad
adverbDefinition of bad (Entry 3 of 3)
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Synonyms & Antonyms for bad
Synonyms: Adjective
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
Synonyms: Noun
evil, evildoing, ill, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wrong
Synonyms: Adverb
badly, deficiently, inadequately, lousily, poorly, unacceptably, unsatisfactorily, wretchedly
Antonyms: Adjective
acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, fine, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, standard, tolerable
Antonyms: Noun
Antonyms: Adverb
acceptably, adequately, all right, fine, good, nicely, OK (or okay), palatably, passably, satisfactorily, so-so, tolerably, well
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Examples of bad in a Sentence
Adjective
The house is in bad condition. a letter written in bad French He had a bad day at the office. I was having a bad dream. She made a very bad impression on her future colleagues. We've been having bad weather lately. The medicine left a bad taste in his mouth. It's a bad time for business right now. Things are looking pretty bad for us at this point. I have a bad feeling about this.Noun
There's more good than bad in him. We need to teach our children the difference between good and bad. teaching children the difference between the good and the bad He believes that the good go to heaven when they die and the bad go to hell.Adverb
He hasn't succeeded because he doesn't want it bad enough. you didn't do too bad on the treadmill test
Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
More ominously, migration to South Africa as the premier African economy will only get worse in the coming years. — Gilbert M Khadiagala, Quartz Africa, "Nigerians aren’t targeted more than other Africans in South Africa’s xenophobic attacks but the damage is done," 12 Sep. 2019 Can something that brings together Omar, Paul, and Tucker Carlson be bad? — Adam Weinstein, The New Republic, "Firing John Bolton Doesn’t Make You a Pacifist," 10 Sep. 2019 But symptoms definitely get worse if the appendix actually bursts. — Korin Miller, SELF, "How to Know If Your Appendix Burst: Look Out for These Signs and Symptoms," 9 Sep. 2019 There may be good and bad reasons to use a brain scan to make personalized predictions. — Wired, "Why We Need Guidelines for Brain Scan Data," 17 Sep. 2019 To economists, there is nothing inherently good or bad about a surplus or deficit between any pair of countries. — Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, "Real World Economics: Time to explain the basics of trade," 15 Sep. 2019 For better or worse, that set the tone for the rest of the half. — Sean Keeler, The Denver Post, "Broncos comeback kicked aside by Bears in Denver’s first home opener loss since 2011," 15 Sep. 2019 The ripple effects -- both good and bad -- can still be felt in this community. — Kaya Yurieff, CNN, "Long Island City tries to move on after Amazon HQ2 debacle," 14 Sep. 2019 The Mets starter has alternated good and bad starts over his last half-dozen outings. — Chris Wassel, USA TODAY Sportsbook Wire, "Los Angeles Dodgers at New York Mets odds, picks and best bets," 14 Sep. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The accidental bumps and sorrys and quiet my bads create a low hum as the group finds its rhythm behind Jaydon. — Adam Harris, The Atlantic, "The Fine Line Campus Tour Guides Walk—Backwards," 29 Aug. 2019 And the true halfway point of Mr. Robot would’ve come sometime during S3, which ends by finally putting Elliot in direct odds with big bads White Rose and the Dark Army. — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, "Mr. Robot S3: If you abandoned f-society last year, it’s time to come back," 14 Dec. 2017 Some good news to buffer the bad: Andreas Athanasiou will practice with the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday, and could be in the lineup this trip. — Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press, "Red Wings lament lack of offense, look forward to Athanasiou's return," 25 Oct. 2017 Our big bads in the Hawkins federal lab seem to be ramping up to factor heavily into this modern theme. — Nathan Mattise, Ars Technica, "Stranger Things 2: The hype strikes back, but the story alliance is ready," 31 Oct. 2017 Domestic Goods — and Bads: Robin Thicke and model girlfriend April Love Geary are expecting a baby. … — Christie D'zurilla, latimes.com, "Did You Hear ... ? Late-night TV takes on Trump, Tom Cruise lands hard and more from the week in entertainment," 19 Aug. 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb
Not bad from an actress from Russellville, Alabama. — John Hammontree | Jhammontree@al.com, al, "Sonequa Martin-Green on Star Trek, Walking Dead, Space Jam and Alabama," 12 Aug. 2019 And people are pretty good at seeing their own behavior in the best light and pretty bad at seeing an invidious pattern to their assumptions. — New York Times, "What Should I Do About My Racially Obtuse Co-Worker?," 2 July 2019 An Arizona Department of Child Safety report orders a parent to keep their court hearings and DCS meetings secret from news media, politicians and anyone who may bad-mouth the government. — Arizona Republic, "Did Arizona Department of Child Services try to bar parents from criticizing it?," 16 July 2019 And though Koepka will have to wait another month before going for major No. 5, at the British Open at Royal Portrush, his résumé didn’t take too bad a hit. — Eddie Pells, BostonGlobe.com, "Brooks Koepka sparkles in US Open but settles for second," 17 June 2019 And though Koepka will have to wait another month before going for major No. 5, at the British Open at Royal Portrush, his resume didn’t take too bad a hit. — Eddie Pells, The Denver Post, "Brooks Koepka makes U.S. Open history, but no 3 in a row," 17 June 2019 Mirroring the Scientology custom whereby anyone who bad-mouths the church is ostracized as a nonperson, the practice smacks of a cult. — Lionel Shriver, Harper's magazine, "Cruel and Unusual Punishment," 10 Feb. 2019 Apart from all the hurricane of all that fire coming up real bad. — Mark Phillips, CBS News, "97-year-old former paratrooper makes another jump 75 years after D-Day," 5 June 2019 As bad a beating as the left took this year, losses may be starker and deeper in years to come. — The Economist, "Justice Kennedy is retiring. What happens now?," 30 June 2018These 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.
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Statistics for bad
Last Updated
12 Oct 2019
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for bad
The first known use of bad was in the 13th century
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More Definitions for bad
bad
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of bad
(Entry 1 of 2)
bad
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of bad (Entry 2 of 2)
See the full definition for bad in the English Language Learners Dictionary
bad
adjective
\
Kids Definition of bad
bad
adjectiveLegal Definition of bad
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