1
: in a bad manner
played badly
2
: to a great or intense degree
want something badly
see also badly off for, not badly, think badly of
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
In retaliation, Larry was badly beaten by DiTommaso, resulting in neurological damage.
—
Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
In September, while fighting a fire, a garage collapsed, trapping and badly injuring the 27-year-old.
—Ginger Allen, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
Francisco Carmona, Córdoba’s fire chief, told Spanish national radio RNE that one of the trains was badly mangled, with at least four wagons off the rails.
—Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
But the party was badly beaten in 2024, is facing a growing challenge from the anti-immigrant Reform, and may be in terminal decline.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for badly
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Jessica Sager, PEOPLE, 20 Jan. 2026
In September, while fighting a fire, a garage collapsed, trapping and badly injuring the 27-year-old.
—Ginger Allen, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2026
Francisco Carmona, Córdoba’s fire chief, told Spanish national radio RNE that one of the trains was badly mangled, with at least four wagons off the rails.
—Joseph Wilson, Los Angeles Times, 19 Jan. 2026
But the party was badly beaten in 2024, is facing a growing challenge from the anti-immigrant Reform, and may be in terminal decline.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 19 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.
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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