badly

adverb

ˈbad-lē How to pronounce badly (audio)
Definition of badlynext
1
as in poorly
in an unsatisfactory way I'm afraid you performed quite badly in our last rehearsal

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terribly
to a great degree blood donors are badly needed this time of year

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 badly He was sent to fight in World War II, where he was badly injured. — Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 2 Sep. 2026 Barely a week goes by without another story about rogue agents or models behaving badly. — Don Schuerman, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026 The gray 2006 Honda Accord was badly damaged but landed upright on a rocky beach, according to photos from the scene. — Terry Castleman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 But a crucial pipeline that supplies water to tourists near the South Rim is badly damaged, Drapeaux said. — Holly Yan, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for badly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badly
  1. poorly
  2. terribly
  3. bad
  4. extremely
  5. very
  6. incredibly
  7. too
  8. severely
Adverb
  • If Michigan plays poorly against the Sooners, the boos that rang out during Whittingham’s first game will get even louder.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • With only two publicly demonstrated ready-to-fire missiles, a vehicle like this would be poorly suited to independently handle a large drone swarm.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of poorly
Adverb
  • Though Lock and Fleury aren’t Darnold and Kubiak, Wednesday night’s game demonstrated that Seattle is not interested in making terribly many overarching changes from last year’s general offensive approach.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The other might be the terribly limited prospects of people like Miguelito living in Chivilcoy, a town outside Buenos Aires, where the two latter parts of the film is set.
    — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of terribly
Adverb
  • Another would be to coat your thumbs with a bad-tasting substance.
    — Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 30 July 2026
  • Of course, Hole himself isn’t averse to breaking bad, either.
    — Jon O'Brien, IndieWire, 23 Mar. 2026
Definition of bad
Adverb
  • Christner studies microorganisms that are able to survive in extremely low temperatures.
    — Jonathan Jones, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Deposition systems add extremely thin layers of material onto a silicon wafer.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of extremely
Adverb
  • The real-life aspect of the things that inspired me to write this book were so much grimmer than the book itself and not actually very funny.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
  • At the very least, a loss would have quelled any desire to inflict further consequences on Michigan.
    — Austin Meek, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of very
Adverb
  • But incredibly, that failure actually paved the way for his return to the competition last season, with Benfica hiring him just weeks later.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • This part — two brothers who respect each others’ artistic gifts (most of the time) but cannot stand each other personally — is not universal but incredibly specific.
    — Nate Jones, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of incredibly
Adverb
  • Rafaela recaps many shows for us, particularly the Below Deck universe, and writes about movies too.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 11 Sep. 2026
  • There were several other plays with noteworthy designs, too, albeit with varying results.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of too
Adverb
  • The country, severely affected by gangs and a serious humanitarian crisis, has spent years trying to contain crime without much success.
    — Sol Amaya, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Corals – which have been severely bleached along the entire Tanzanian coastline, and largely wiped out around Zanzibar – are being replanted, to try to grow new populations.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of severely

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badlands
badly
bad-mouth
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Cite this Entry

“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badly. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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