bad 1 of 3

1
as in unacceptable
falling short of a standard a bad first attempt at making meat loaf resulted in a soggy, inedible mess

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2
as in evil
not conforming to a high moral standard; morally unacceptable stealing is just plain bad

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as in sad
feeling unhappiness hearing about the world's miseries always makes him feel bad

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as in null
having no legal or binding force all known claims on the property were dismissed by the court as bad

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12

bad

2 of 3

adverb

bad

3 of 3

noun

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bad news
awful news
bad weather
poor weather
awful weather
terrible weather
nasty weather
unfavorable weather
bad luck
rotten luck
lousy luck
a bad idea
a foolish idea
a dangerous idea
a poor idea
an unwise idea
an awful idea
bad behavior
malicious behavior
naughty behavior
poor behavior
terrible behavior
awful behavior

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of bad
Adjective
But others are, at best, psychological signposts and, at worst, internet inside-jokes. Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 June 2025 In your garden, stink bugs can be a real bad problem... Steve Bender, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
Adverb
Ignoring one of them can lead you to bad-looking maps no one would prefer. J. Richard Gott, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2021 The researchers think that by expelling their bad-tasting innards when fish are nibbling nearby, sea squirts may drive the fish away. Elizabeth Preston, Discover Magazine, 26 June 2015
Noun
In the Avenge the Earth storyline, those big bads included Apocalypse, the first mutant, and, of course, Kang the Conqueror. Joe George, Men's Health, 16 Feb. 2023 So what was the rationale behind introducing our new big bad in the exact opposite way? Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for bad
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bad
Adjective
  • Meanwhile, an unacceptable state of affairs persists.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2025
  • The latest version of a controversial bill that would require the sale of federal land to pay for tax cuts limits the scope of Bureau of Land Management property eligible for sale, but remains unacceptable to hunting, fishing, and conservation leaders.
    Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 25 June 2025
Adjective
  • After an early tutorial sequence where players learn the ropes of controlling the powerful yet agile ape, the story introduces its antagonists: Void Company, an evil corporate mining operation hell-bent on creating a golden banana monopoly.
    Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 1 July 2025
  • Unfortunately, an evil Starfleet admiral (Anthony Zerbe) and a conniving alien (F. Murray Abraham) have teamed up to steal the planet’s mojo for themselves.
    Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • One of the most common and harmful examples is the Social Security Administration phishing scam, which targets unsuspecting individuals with alarming and deceptive messages.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 6 July 2025
  • Avoid charring or cooking over high flames, which can create harmful compounds (like HCAs and PAHs).
    Lauryn Higgins, Time, 3 July 2025
Adjective
  • In other news, water is wet and the Islanders are naughty.
    Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 21 June 2025
  • The Renaissance’s old love language — the naughty puns, the sighs of longing and strategies of seduction, the paeans to the beauty of beloveds masked by fanciful Greek and Latin names — had grown obsolete long before Millay’s time.
    A.O. Scott, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • Too much alcohol and your dreamy dessert turns into a sad, semi-frozen slush.
    Emily Price, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
  • Her eyes are big and sad, and her index finger touches the tip of the nightstick hanging from the policeman’s belt.
    Daniel Alarcón, New Yorker, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • That leads estate planners to recommend to some clients an intentionally defective grantor trust (IDGT).
    Bob Carlson, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
  • The parts planning team, which uses a separate system with different data, mistakenly orders a big batch of the now defective parts before getting the update.
    Sean O'Neill, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The odor comes from a toxic gas that’s colorless and smells like rotten eggs.
    Tammy Murga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 July 2025
  • If the weather’s rotten, the show simply moves inside to the main USJ auditorium.
    Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 29 June 2025
Adjective
  • Diana, for example, when anything unpleasant was said in her presence, would slowly blink her eyes in an incredible act of denial.
    Rosemary Counter, Time, 25 June 2025
  • Some of these vitamins have quality issues, like a fishy or unpleasant taste.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 25 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bad.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bad. Accessed 9 Jul. 2025.

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