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
Here's what to know about all the other sightings where the Grinch has been behaving badly.
—
Julia Gomez, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
That scenario would badly damage any hypothetical chances to trade up for a quarterback.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
The driver of the truck was uninjured but the vehicle was badly damaged, with full airbag deployment, and needed to be towed from the scene.
—Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 22 Dec. 2025
McCarthy, his coach said, didn’t know the hand was badly injured.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
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Julia Gomez, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
That scenario would badly damage any hypothetical chances to trade up for a quarterback.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 22 Dec. 2025
The driver of the truck was uninjured but the vehicle was badly damaged, with full airbag deployment, and needed to be towed from the scene.
—Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 22 Dec. 2025
McCarthy, his coach said, didn’t know the hand was badly injured.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 21 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 2 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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