bad

adjective \ ˈbad \

Definition of bad

worse play \ˈwərs\; worst play \ˈwərst\

1 a :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

2 a :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

5 a :injurious, harmful

a bad influence

b :serious, severe

in bad trouble

a bad cough

6 :incorrect, faulty

bad grammar

7 a :suffering pain or distress

felt generally bad

b :unhealthy, diseased

bad teeth

8 :sorrowful, sorry

feels bad about forgetting to call

9 a :invalid, void

a bad check

b :not able to be collected

a bad debt

10 badder; baddest slang

a :good, great

one of the baddest songwriters to be found anywhere
—Black Collegian

b :tough, mean

the baddest guy on the block

—

badness

noun

— not bad

: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

See bad defined for English-language learners

See bad defined for kids

Examples of bad in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of bad from the Web

Into the worst Philadelphia Phillies season in 56 years has dropped the most curious and welcome of baseball joys: the out-of-nowhere August phenom.

— dave sheinin, chicagotribune.com, "Amid historically bad Phillies season, Rhys Hoskins is smashing records and chasing Ted Williams," 30 Aug. 2017
There is never a bad time to put get prepared for an emergency – except for when one is already upon you.

— rebecca mcbane, South Florida Parenting, "Don't Wait for the Storm: The most important step in a Family Emergency Plan is to make one," 30 Aug. 2017
This practice raises huge concerns for officer safety if one of those stops goes bad because dispatchers do not know where officers are.

— jsonline.com, "Trust damaged between Milwaukee police and community, Department of Justice draft report says," 30 Aug. 2017
Brooks has a criminal history that includes three convictions for purposefully writing bad checks.

— adam ferrise, cleveland.com, "Cleveland mom, boyfriend charged after 12-year-old boy is beaten with a bat, a belt and a pole," 30 Aug. 2017
That number was worse out west, where 75 percent reported the same difficulty.

— william thornton, AL.com, "Construction firms struggling to fill hourly craft positions, survey says," 30 Aug. 2017
That was a light-hearted group, which isn’t always a bad thing.

— nick baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "After a year of retooling, Michigan's offensive line ready for its first test," 29 Aug. 2017
The bad news is most of the surplus was the result of a spending and hiring freeze enacted in March.

— peter marteka, Courant Community, "Glastonbury Ends Fiscal Year With A Surplus," 29 Aug. 2017
This is not inherently bad; the idea of using a tiny container of creamer so as to avoid opening and possibly eventually throwing out a quart of milk is sound.

— dan nosowitz, Smithsonian, "Milk and Sugar Pods That Dissolve in Coffee Could Replace Single-Serve Containers," 29 Aug. 2017

These 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.

Origin and Etymology of bad

Middle English badde, bad, of obscure origin

Note: The Middle English word apparently appears as a surname or element in surnames in the 13th century, but as an independent adjective not before the 14th century. The supposed connection with the marginally attested Old English words bæddel, bædling (vowel length uncertain) "hermaphrodite, homosexual" is possible but uncertain (direct descent of badde from bæddel through phonetic reduction is unlikely).

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

bad Synonyms

bad

noun

Definition of bad

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 4

the mistake was my bad

See bad defined for English-language learners

Examples of bad in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of bad from the Web

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. 2017

Origin and Etymology of bad

Middle English badde, noun derivative of badde ¹bad

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

bad Synonyms

Synonyms

evil, evildoing, ill, immorality, iniquity, sin, villainy, wrong

Antonyms

good, morality, right, virtue

Near Antonyms

decency, goodness, honesty, integrity, probity, rectitude, uprightness; goodness, righteousness, virtuousness

bad

adverb

Definition of bad

:badly

not doing so bad

doesn't want it bad enough

See bad defined for English-language learners

Examples of bad in a Sentence

He hasn't succeeded because he doesn't want it bad enough.
you didn't do too bad on the treadmill test

Recent Examples of bad from the Web

Question this book and feel very, very bad too. 'The Incest Diary' by Anonymous is published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux ($18)

— lisa schwarzbaum, Newsweek, "My Father, My Rapist: 'The Incest Diary' Book By Anonymous Is Disturbing Yet Necessary," 17 July 2017
It's been nearly two months since Riverdale's season finale aired, and the fans are missing it real bad.

— noelle devoe, Seventeen, "This Mind-Blowing "Riverdale" Theory About Betty's Long Lost Brother Could Destroy Bughead," 6 July 2017
Americans are notoriously bad at taking allotted days off.

— david jefferys, CNT, "Why One in Fifty Swedes Travels to Thailand Every Year," 21 June 2017
And whether you’re talking oak in wine, pumpkin in coffee, or weed in brownies: too much of a good thing is BAD.

— marissa a. ross, Bon Appetit, "Why "Oxidized" Is the Wine Word of 2017," 17 Apr. 2017
This year, the snow has been really, really bad all over Europe.

— brian murphy, Twin Cities, "Stillwater grad Jessie Diggins keeps raising the bar for U.S. Nordic skiing," 26 Aug. 1950

Origin and Etymology of bad

adverbial derivative of ¹bad

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1575

See Words from the same year

bad Synonyms

Synonyms

badly, deficiently, inadequately, lousily, poorly, unacceptably, unsatisfactorily, wretchedly

Antonyms

acceptably, adequately, all right, fine, good, nicely, OK (or okay), palatably, passably, satisfactorily, so-so, tolerably, well

Near Antonyms

appropriately, congruously, correctly, decently, decorously, felicitously, fittingly, meetly, rightly, seemly, suitably; exactly, faithfully, ideally, precisely, respectably; gratifyingly, satisfyingly

BAD Defined for English Language Learners

bad

adjective

Definition of bad for English Language Learners

: low or poor in quality
: not correct or proper
: not pleasant, pleasing, or enjoyable

bad

noun

Definition of bad for English Language Learners

: morally bad forces or influences
the bad : the unpleasant things that happen to people
: things that are morally wrong

BAD Defined for Kids

bad

adjective \ ˈbad \

Definition of bad for Students

worse \ˈwərs\; worst \ˈwərst\

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 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 1

I felt bad about my mistake.

14 :not skillful a bad musician

—

badness

noun

Synonym Discussion of bad

bad, evil, and wicked mean not doing or being what is right. bad is used of anyone or anything that a person might dislike or find fault with.

- He had to stay after school for bad behavior.

evil is a more powerful word than bad and is used for something of bad moral character.

- Criminals were planning evil deeds.

wicked is used of someone or something that is truly and deliberately bad.

- He was a very wicked ruler who caused many people harm.

Law Dictionary

bad

adjective

legal Definition of bad

:not valid :void

bad notice

; especially :not covered by sufficient funds

a bad check

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BAD Defined for English Language Learners

bad

Definition of bad for English Language Learners

bad

Definition of bad for English Language Learners

BAD Defined for Kids

bad

Definition of bad for Students

badness

Synonym Discussion of bad

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bad

legal Definition of bad

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