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
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Recent Examples of badly
His speech was unhinged, often not founded in fact, and rambled badly.
—
Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
And now, after losing their best player Monday, Grier and his franchise badly need both lines to improve quickly for this team to have any chance of winning more than a handful of games.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
The author had found that the paranormal romance genre, both on television and in books, has historically relegated Black girls to lesser roles that usually end badly for them.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
Sivak also saved the limbs of several Palestinian suspects badly wounded in Gaza and detained by the Israeli military.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 30 Sep. 2025
And now, after losing their best player Monday, Grier and his franchise badly need both lines to improve quickly for this team to have any chance of winning more than a handful of games.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
The author had found that the paranormal romance genre, both on television and in books, has historically relegated Black girls to lesser roles that usually end badly for them.
—Dan Kelly, Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
Sivak also saved the limbs of several Palestinian suspects badly wounded in Gaza and detained by the Israeli military.
—Daniel Estrin, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for badly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for badly
Adverb
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Luis Gil continued to pitch poorly, proving the questions around why the Yankees started him in the first place were warranted.—
Brendan Kuty,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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The episode reflects poorly on Your Party’s leadership, but that’s not the only obstacle the project is up against.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
4 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Not terribly long ago, Spanish restaurants were abundant in this part of Manhattan, but a good number have died off in recent years.—
Helen Rosner,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
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Immediate forgiveness – a message of letting go of the anger that comes with being so terribly wronged – has a familiar sound to those who have been following a frighteningly violent news cycle.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
1 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Remember, too much of a good thing can turn bad quickly!—
Amber Smith,
Discover Magazine,
3 Apr. 2024
-
That started off bad and got better.—
Vulture,
Vulture,
21 Feb. 2023
Adverb
-
Some genres may be extremely violent and gory, so parents may want to consider supervising their children's viewing of films or avoid them altogether.—
PC Magazine,
PC Magazine,
4 Oct. 2025
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Grain bins and silos can be extremely deadly if people get trapped inside.—
Kelli Arseneau,
jsonline.com,
3 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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Monster has debuted into this very fraught political moment where, despite no evidence showing a link between violence and transness, right-wingers have gone to great pains to paint almost every mass shooter who makes front page news as trans in hopes of stripping trans people of their rights.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
7 Oct. 2025
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In early 2024, support for Israel’s war was very high, if lower among Democrats.—
David Weigel,
semafor.com,
7 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
At the time, the fields of primatology, ethology, anthropology, and all of science were incredibly male-dominated.—
Emma Hinchliffe,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
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And there was Mahab Ghodss, an incredibly powerful and opaque consulting firm run by regime insiders, which drafted the studies for dam projects and lobbied for approval.—
Nik Kowsar,
Time,
2 Oct. 2025
Adverb
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On July 14, a jury of 10 women and two men found Serafini guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder for the shooting that killed his father-in-law Gary Spohr, 70, and severely wounded his mother-in-law, Wendy Wood, 68, at their home near Lake Tahoe.—
Rosalio Ahumada,
Sacbee.com,
7 Oct. 2025
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Hamas' top leadership has been assassinated, its fighting capacity severely curbed in Gaza.—
Emily Feng,
NPR,
7 Oct. 2025
Adverb
-
He was carried off the field that day, too.—
Scott Dochterman,
New York Times,
5 Oct. 2025
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The new premier, a veteran lawmaker seen as Abe’s protégé, is well positioned to regain the support of rightwing voters who feel the LDP had become too moderate, especially on immigration.—
Jeff Kingston,
Time,
4 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Badly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/badly. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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