bad
adjective
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worst\ˈwərst
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Definition of bad
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : 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
2a : 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
: 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
bad
nounDefinition of bad (Entry 2 of 3)
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 sense 4 the mistake was my bad
bad
adverbDefinition of bad (Entry 3 of 3)
: badly not doing so bad doesn't want it bad enough
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Synonyms & Antonyms for bad
Synonyms: Adjective
bush, bush-league, crummy (also crumby), deficient, dissatisfactory, ill, inferior, lame, lousy, off, paltry, poor, punk, sour, subpar, substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, 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
Officials rank the roads using a pavement condition index and also spot-check roadways to see which are in the worst state based on criteria including cracks and the number of vehicles using the road. — Kate Magill, Howard County Times, "Howard County to fund $20 million in road, sidewalk, traffic improvements," 13 July 2018 Griffin issued off-key apologies in ways that only made things worse. — Théoden Janes, charlotteobserver, "Controversial comic Kathy Griffin’s back, with a warning for fans coming to her show," 13 July 2018 This is a mistake because bad behavior by executives is evidence of weak governance and a flawed corporate culture. — Elizabeth Winkler, WSJ, "#MeToo Is Not a Buying Opportunity for Investors," 12 July 2018 Twitter will stop including accounts that have been locked for bad behavior in publicly posted follower counts, the company said today. — Casey Newton, The Verge, "Twitter follower counts drop after a change in how they are counted," 11 July 2018 This is the story of the six computer polls—and the people behind them—who swayed the BCS countless times, for better and worse, and saw their rankings through to the bitter end. — Joan Niesen, SI.com, "The Computer Poll Uprising: Creators of the BCS's Most Controversial Component Look Back," 11 July 2018 Central Florida’s oversupply of office space is likely to get worse next year, a new report says. — Bill Zimmerman, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Drop in Metro Orlando office occupancies could get worse, analyst says," 11 July 2018 California is suffering a shortage of mental health professionals – and it's expected to get worse in the next decade. — Hannah Holzer, sacbee, "California needs more mental health professionals – and the shortage will get worse, experts say," 11 July 2018 And, for better or worse, the performance of this offense could go a long way toward determining the identity of Harbaugh's program four years into a tenure that has not produced nearly the results some initially expected. — Nick Baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "Despite changes, Michigan football faces familiar questions on offense," 6 July 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
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
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 2018 While survey data might be more representative, people are notoriously bad at reporting their own behaviors. — Rani Molla, Recode, "Americans seem to like ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft. But it’s hard to say exactly how many use them.," 24 June 2018 Not bad a for a team that has had trouble finding the net all season. — Jeremy Fuchs, SI.com, "Power Rankings: Are the Lightning and Predators on a Stanley Cup Final Crash Course?," 12 Mar. 2018 Harnack says this is a difficult topic to research because only a few large chains have posted calorie information to date, and people are also notoriously bad a estimating their calorie intake. — CBS News, "Does posting calorie counts change what we order?," 8 May 2018 Restaurant diners are notoriously bad at keeping reservations. — Aubrey Nagle, Philly.com, "Sixers star needs surgery, S. Jersey church hires armed police, Nova Nation preps for Final Four | Morning Newsletter," 30 Mar. 2018 Quinn dumped offensive line coach Ron Prince and replaced him with Jeff Davidson, who has a history of turning around bad running teams. — Jeff Seidel, Detroit Free Press, "How this NFL draft could propel Detroit Lions into playoffs," 28 Apr. 2018 If this becomes another 218 Arch St., the developer, L&I, the city, everybody is going to look very bad all over. — Stephan Salisbury, Philly.com, "Proposed West Philly apartments may sit atop an old graveyard," 24 Jan. 2018 Turns out ants are really bad at picking up on nestmates infected with this particular fungus. — Kate Sheridan, Newsweek, "Zombie Apocalypse: Ants Can't Tell When Their Colony Is Overrun by a Deadly Fungus," 14 Mar. 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
14 Sep 2018
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)
: low or poor in quality
: not correct or proper
: not pleasant, pleasing, or enjoyable
bad
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of bad (Entry 2 of 2)
: morally bad forces or influences
the bad : the unpleasant things that happen to people
: things that are morally wrong
See the full definition for bad in the English Language Learners Dictionary
bad
adjective
\
Kids Definition of bad
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 sense 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 sense 1 I felt bad about my mistake.
14 : not skillful a bad musician
bad
adjectiveLegal Definition of bad
: not valid : void bad notice especially : not covered by sufficient funds a bad check
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