badly

adverb

bad·​ly ˈbad-lē 

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)

not badly

: fairly or acceptably well

The economy is doing not badly and looks even better than it really is.

—Tom Teepen

think badly of

: 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

• bad
• deficiently
• inadequately
• lousily
• poorly
• unacceptably
• unsatisfactorily
• wretchedly

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

Almost all of the Kharkiv region's power facilities have been destroyed or badly damaged, causing large-scale power cuts, since Russia renewed its aerial assault this spring. —Yuriy Zaliznyak, ABC News, 3 May 2024

The white concrete approach ramp from Pacific Street over The Strand to the pier was built in 1927 and is badly weathered from the marine environment. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing badly

• badly off
• badly off for
• not badly
• think badly of

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