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1
: in a bad manner
played badly
2
: to a great or intense degree
want something badly
Phrases
badly off for
British
: strongly in need of (something or someone)
It may seem pie in the sky in the current financial climate, but few could argue that for a city of its size and prestige, Edinburgh is badly off for large-scale sports facilities.—The Evening News (Edinburgh)
: fairly or acceptably well
The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.—Tom Teepen
: to have an unfavorable or low opinion of (someone or something)
"You shouldn't think badly of the town because of this," said Brogan. "It is a good town."—Neil Gaiman
Synonyms
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
Leonsis also diplomatically pointed out one of the uncomfortable truths of the Chinatown issue — the fact that public safety in the area around Capital One has deteriorated badly in a way that may be scaring off potential customers.
—Ashraf Khalil, Fortune, 4 Mar. 2024
California voters will decide March 5 whether to pump billions more dollars into combating the nation’s worst homelessness crisis, an investment Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom argues will finally provide the housing and treatment so badly needed by tens of thousands of homeless people.
—Tribune News Service, Orange County Register, 1 Mar. 2024
The Warriors had hustled down the floor for a final shot, but David Mack’s wild 3-point try missed badly.
—John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Feb. 2024
But the winner didn’t do too badly for themselves with a $2 million prize, officials said.
—Brooke Baitinger, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
This happened in 2017 when the buds advanced to the fifth stage of six and were badly damaged by snow and temperatures that plunged into the 20s.
—Jason Samenow, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024
The Palestinian Authority, created around 30 years ago as part of the interim Oslo peace accords, has been badly undermined by accusations of ineffectiveness and corruption and the prime minister holds little effective power.
—Ali Sawafta, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Feb. 2024
In January 2020, lack of ice cover led to waves damaging the shoreline so badly that Milwaukee County sought disaster relief funds from the government.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 26 Feb. 2024
Lesson #3: The distance from the inability to do something to doing it badly is usually much shorter than the distance from doing something badly and doing it correctly.
—Gil Press, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'badly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of badly was
in the 14th century
Phrases Containing badly
Dictionary Entries Near badly
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/badly. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on badly
Nglish: Translation of badly for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of badly for Arabic Speakers
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